358 Days of Anime
by darkruler64
Summary: The next installment in my Kingdom Anime series. Roxas is a Nobody, born into the world with no heart and no clue as to his identity. An organization of older Nobodies has taken him in and assigned him to travel to numerous anime worlds to collect hearts. Things become complicated however when a strange being called Xion is brought into the organization.
1. Number Thirteen

Xemnas stood on a ledge overlooking the grand hall. During his past life, this had been one of his favorite parts of the castle and it was almost exactly as he remembered. A small girl with short red hair was lying upon the floor and standing over her was a boy with white hair dressed in a black bodysuit. A boy sprinted up the stairway, lifted the girl up, and began shaking her. Xemnas recognized the boy immediately for he had begun studying him not long ago. He was named Sora and he was the wielder of a Keyblade, but not just any Keyblade. Sora's Keyblade had the power to seal the door to darkness. When Xemnas first saw this Keyblade, the name _Kingdom Key _came to mind.

"She has lost her heart." The white-haired boy said, in a voice that could not possibly have been his own.

Sora stared up at the older boy, he seemed shocked.

"It's…it's you…" he said, shaking.

The older boy gestured toward the large keyhole in the wall behind them, it had finally been revealed.

"The keyhole cannot be completed until the last Princess of Heart is revived."

"Princess…Kairi's a princess?" Sora asked, sounding bewildered.

"Yes." The older boy confirmed. "But without her heart, the keyhole will remain incomplete."

So all seven Princesses of Heart had been gathered.

"Let Riku go!" Sora demanded. "Get out of his heart!" Such an absent minded response, it was typical for people with hearts to lose sight of the bigger picture.

"But first, you must return the princess' heart." The older boy insisted, and he pointed some kind of dark Keyblade at Sora.

Sora clutched his heart and fell back, he looked as though he were in pain.

"The princess' heart is responding. It has been there all along!" The older boy declared.

"Kai…Kairi's inside me?" Sora breathed.

"I know all that there is to know."

"Tell me, who are you?"

"I am Ansem, Seeker of Darkness."

Ansem…that name was all too familiar to Xemnas, for he had fashioned his own name from it. He now knew what this entity was; it was the Heartless of his original self. Obviously it could not take physical form so it entered the body of this boy called Riku.

"I shall release you now, Princess." It declared. "Complete the keyhole with your power!"

The Heartless raised its dark Keyblade and prepared to run Sora through, but he summoned his own to block it and began pushing the Heartless back.

"I don't care who you are!" Sora said impudently. "You're not getting Kairi's heart!"

Xemnas stood patiently and watched as the two of them began fighting, he had no intention of interfering. His Heartless seemed too set in its own goals to be of any use to him. The Heartless proved to be a formidable opponent as it called upon the power of darkness to gain the upper hand. But just when it seemed that it would defeat Sora, he sprung to his feet and struck back with the kind of determination that only people with hearts were capable of.

When Xemnas became complete again, he would have all of the heart's strengths and none of its weaknesses, he would make certain of that. Finally, the Heartless stuck its dark Keyblade in the ground and vanished. It was not in the nature of most Heartless to retreat, but it seemed only right that this one be cleverer than the rest. Sora examined the dark Keyblade for a moment and plunged it into his heart, despite the protests that came from his companions. The dark Keyblade dissolved into a cloud of darkness and beneath it were six shining hearts; they must have belonged to the other six princesses.

The six hearts flew to reunite with their vessels and Sora's own heart emerged from his chest and sunk into a large pool of darkness along with his body. To be able to convert anything that was made of light into something so dark was unfathomable. Xemnas had underestimated his own Heartless; it was far more powerful than he had believed, he would have to be sure and stay out of its way. He continued to watch as the princess called "Kairi" awoke rushed over to the dark pool and pulled out a small Shadow that had once been Sora's heart, just as Xemnas had expected, but what of Sora's body?

Xemnas opened a dark portal beneath him and descended as quickly as he was able. It was not long until he found what he was looking for; Sora's body was sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness until a small opening appeared and it fell through. Xemnas dropped through the opening after it and they landed back in the realm of light. They were in a wooded area under a bright orange sky. Xemnas looked down at the empty vessel; its clothes had disintegrated and its hair, eyes and skin had lost their color and were now gray. After a few moments it slowly opened its eyes and stood. As soon as the sun's rays touched it, the natural color returned to its skin and eyes. Its hair turned gold like the sun's rays and curved into a different shape. A new nobody was born.

"Do you know who you are?" Xemnas asked the newly born Nobody.

The Nobody turned his head to face Xemnas but did not respond.

"Do you know where you came from?" Xemnas asked.

The Nobody slowly shook his head.

"I can give you a purpose." Xemnas professed. He waved his hand and lucid, silver letters appeared before him, they were the letters of Sora's name. He rearranged the letters and added an X forming the name "Roxas." He then reversed the letters so the Nobody could read.

"Roxas." The Nobody muttered.

"Yes." Said Xemnas. "The new you."

Darkness began swirling around the Nobody now named Roxas and formed into a uniform identical to Xemnas'. He opened a dark portal and bid Roxas to enter. Roxas obeyed without giving it any thought and Xemnas followed. They walked through blackness and emerged in one of the many corridors of Xemnas' castle. Xemnas lead Roxas down the corridor and into the lounge where Axel was sitting.

"Hey, boss." Axel said lazily. "Who's the zombie?"

"Roxas." Xemnas replied. "Our newest and final member."

"You finally gonna give this organization a name, then?" Axel inquired.

"Yes." Xemnas confirmed. "From this moment forth, we shall be known as THIRTEEN."

Axel shrugged at the name and leaned back in his chair.

"I have business elsewhere." Xemnas stated. "Attend to Roxas while I'm away."

Axel sighed and got to his feet as Xemnas strode out of the room.

"So I'm a babysitter today." He said, mostly to himself. "When am I gonna get a real mission?"

He got up to stretch and groaned.

"I could go for some hot wings right now." Axel said. "Maybe an ice cream."

He turned to Roxas

"How 'bout you, Roxas? Wanna get some eats?"

Roxas did not respond but only stared.

"I'll take that as a yes." Axel decided "C'mon, follow me."

As Axel lead Roxas out of the castle he got a feeling he had seen Roxas somewhere before, but he dismissed it.

* * *

><p>Some time had passed and the man called Axel brought Roxas to a round white room. He was soon surrounded by people in black cloaks just like his; they were all seated high above him, looking down at him, though he did not know why. The silver haired one seated highest above him was the one who brought him here, but he did not know who he was or why he brought him here.<p>

"Number Thirteen, Roxas." The silver haired one announced. "At last, a wielder of the Keyblade among our ranks. I, Xemnas found you. I gave you a home and a purpose, and so you are indebted to me. You will be given assignments and you will be expected to carry them out."

As Roxas listened to the one who called himself "Xemnas," he understood that he was going to remain here and that he had been given some sort of purpose, though he did not know what it was.

"If you are unwilling or unable to do what is asked of you," Xemnas went on, "you will lose the mind and body you now possess and be reduced to a Dusk. You will also be punished if you attempt to leave this castle without permission from one of us."

From what Roxas could understand, if he did not do as these people wanted, he would be punished in some way; as he thought about this, he realized that he did want that.

Xemnas pointed to a seat behind Roxas with "XIII" etched into it and commanded him to sit in it. Without thinking, Roxas climbed into the seat.

"We finally have the means to collect the hearts we need, Kingdom Hearts will one day be complete." Xemnas said. He then rose and said "The rest of you will assemble outside the briefing room to receive your assignments for today. Meeting adjourned."

Everyone got up and left the room without a word, leaving only Roxas and Xemnas. Xemnas gestured for Roxas to follow him. Roxas obeyed and Xemnas lead him into a plain grey room with one window and a simple bed.

"These are your quarters. You will remain here until you are summoned." Xemnas instructed. Once Xemnas left, Roxas walked over to the window and stared out into the darkness. His name was Roxas, he was number thirteen, he lived in this castle with these people in black cloaks, he had to do what they asked of him or something bad would happen to him. That was all he knew.


	2. The Icing on the Cake

Roxas awoke to the sound of a loud rap at his door. He glanced out his window and saw that it was still as dark as it was when he went to sleep. He got up and Axel stepped into his room.

"Axel…" he muttered.

"Morning, Roxas." Axel said "Well, actually there is no morning in this realm but…good to see ya awake. Your training starts today."

"T…training…" Roxas muttered

"Yeah, so follow me." Axel insisted

Roxas followed Axel down the hall into a large grey room with no windows and a single desk. Sitting at the desk was a man, about Xemnas' height with a mane of blue hair, yellow eyes, and an X-shaped scar above his nose. Axel introduced the man as "Saix."

"Roxas, for your first few days you will be put through a series of simple exercises. Their purpose will be to assess your strengths and weaknesses." Saix explained. "You have much to learn before you are ready to start working for us. Axel will supervise you today."

Saix reached out and a black hole opened in the wall, it was large enough for a man to fit inside. He instructed Roxas to walk through and he obeyed. When he emerged he found himself in some sort of dimly lit tunnel, Axel emerged moments later.

"Okay, today we're gonna test your navigation skills."

"N…navigation?" Roxas repeated softly.

"Yeah, you're gonna have to find your way through these tunnels and find a treasure chest. Well…start walking. I'll be right behind ya."

Roxas wandered through the tunnels for what seemed like a long time. Axel was always a few steps behind him but did not say a word until they finally came to the chest. Axel instructed him to open it and he pulled out a small glass bottle filled with thick green liquid.

"Well done." Axel said. "You can keep the potion."

"What…I do…now?" Roxas muttered.

"Now you find your way back." Axel replied.

Roxas managed to find his way back the way he came in less time than before and came to a stop at the area where he and Axel first entered.

"Four minutes to find your way through the tunnels and three minutes to find your way back." Axel stated. "Not perfect but you get a passing grade." He added as he slapped his hand on Roxas' shoulder. "Well, your first exercise was a success, and no success is complete without the icing on the cake."

"Icing…on the cake…" Roxas repeated.

"Yeah," Said Axel, "A little something extra, c'mon."

Axel sat on the ledge near the top of Twilight Town's clock tower; this was his favorite place to hang out. Next to him sat Roxas, still munching on the ice cream Axel gave him.

"Tasty, huh?"

Roxas did not respond but kept eating absent-mindedly.

"We'll meet up here for ice cream after every mission, now that we're friends and all." He declared.

"Friends…"

"Yeah, you and I are friends. Got it memorized?"

"What are…friends?" Roxas asked in his usual mutter.

"Friends are two or more people who hang out together, like we're doing."

Roxas looked down at the terrace below and pointed at some kids who were laughing and chasing each other around.

"Those kids down there? Yeah, they're friends…like us." said Axel. "Hey, Roxas. Betcha don't know why the sun set's red. Light is made of seven colors and of all the colors, red travels the farthest."


	3. Training

Roxas awoke and headed to the briefing room where he found Saix waiting for him. Next to him was another man. He was tall with a masculine face and dull, shoulder-length blond hair. Saix introduced him as "Vexen."

"You're with me today, Roxas." Vexen said in a high, effeminate voice. "I will teach you everything you need to know about your job."

Vexen lead Roxas to an elevator which took them to what appeared to be some sort of arena.

"Roxas, I would like you to attempt to summon the Keyblade." Vexen instructed.

_Keyblade…_

Somehow, that word was familiar to Roxas. Has he held out his hand, a weapon that resembled a large key appeared in it. As he held the weapon, it felt very familiar.

Vexen walked to the center of the arena and opened a small metal cage. Three little black creatures with antennae and beady yellow eyes crawled out.

"The beings you see before you are called Shadows." Vexen explained. "They belong to a class of beings known throughout the worlds as the Heartless."

"Heartless…" Roxas whispered.

"Yes. Shadows are the most basic form of Heartless. Individually, they are weak but like most predatory creatures, they can pose a threat when in larger numbers."

The three Shadows scurried toward Roxas and leapt toward him. Without even thinking about it, he swung the Keyblade and reduced them to black smoke.

Vexen walked over to another cage and a larger Heartless scurried out of it. It had some sort of symbol on its body.

"What you now face is known as an Emblem Heartless. It is your true target."

The Heartless began spinning gracefully toward Roxas, so he stepped to the side and stabbed it with the Keyblade. The first thing he noticed was the small, glowing pink object that appeared when the Heartless was destroyed. The object floated high into the air until it was out of sight.

"You see what happened? The Heartless you destroyed turned back into a heart." Vexen pointed out.

"What is…a heart?" Roxas asked

"Every living being is born with a heart." Vexen explained. "Hearts give living beings the ability to feel and imagine. We are not like them."

"I do not understand." said Roxas

"That is because you do not have a heart." Vexen explained

"I do not have a heart?"

"No. Like all of us, you were born without one. We are not living beings. We are Nobodies, we are not meant to exist."

Vexen gave Roxas a few moments to absorb the information before continuing.

"Without Hearts we are incomplete and eventually we will cease to exist."

"We won't…exist?" Roxas asked.

"Yes, Roxas. Without Hearts, Nobodies disappear, but you can make it possible for us to change that."

"How?"

"The Heart you released when you destroyed that Heartless. It rose to Kingdom Hearts."

"Kingdom…Hearts?"

"Yes. Kingdom Hearts is made of the very thing we lack, a multitude of Hearts. In order to complete it, we need to obtain as many hearts as we possibly can."

"What happens when it is complete?"

A slight smile spread across Vexen's face.

"We will all obtain hearts of our own and become complete. That is the organization's goal. Do you understand why we need you?"

"Yes." Roxas answered. "You need me to get…hearts."

"That is correct." said Vexen, "Now, follow me."

Vexen opened a portal and Roxas followed him through it. When they emerged, they were outdoors, surrounded by woods. Behind them was a high brick wall covered in ivy. Behind the gate, Roxas could see a mansion.

"Five Heartless are hidden in those woods." Vexen said, indicating the wooded area behind them. "You will find and eliminate them, then come right back here. If any get away from you, you are **not** to go after them."

Roxas nodded and headed into the woods, he got to what he guessed was the center when two Heartless appeared. When he looked at them, the name _Soldier _popped into his mind. The first _Soldier _dashed toward him with its claws outstretched, so he swung the Keyblade and sliced it down the middle. It dissolved into black smoke, and then a heart appeared and floated into the sky. He did the same to the other Soldier and beheaded two more that appeared. The final Soldier grabbed Roxas from behind and wrestled him to the ground. He managed to shove it off of him and stab it in the head. He then went back to the mansion's gate where Vexen was waiting.

"Did you destroy them all?" he asked, and Roxas answered "Yes."

"Good." Said Vexen, "Whenever you are sent out on a mission, you are expected to complete it and return to the castle as quickly as you can. You must avoid making contact with people, whenever possible."

"Why?" asked Roxas

"Because the organization operates in secret. We are not supposed to exist."

Over the next couple of days, Roxas had a new teacher for each lesson he received. On his third day he learned about reconnaissance from Zexion, a collected boy with steel-blue hair. Zexion took Roxas through a town called Twilight Town and taught him to make his way through without being seen. His next lesson was with Larxene, a bossy and impatient girl with yellow hair. Larxene taught him how to use magic, three different types of spell-casting Heartless were brought into the arena and she had him use a different spell on each one. At first Roxas had trouble making his spells come out, much to Larxene's aggravation, but once he cast his first spell he cast the rest like an expert. It felt as though he had done it before, though he was certain he had not.

Roxas had his final lesson with Lexaeus, the organization's largest member. Lexaeus had a broad face with a square chin and bushy auburn hair. He had a low, deep voice and spoke very deliberately, much like Zexion.

"Roxas, do you know what pain is?" he asked.

Roxas took a moment to consider his answer but Lexaeus drove his fist into Roxas' stomach, knocking him to the floor. The sensation that came with the blow was not a pleasant one.

"What you are feeling now is pain." Lexaeus told him. "Get up."

Roxas did as he was told and wondered if Lexaeus was going to hit him again.

"Do you still feel pain?"

To Roxas' surprise, he found that he did not feel anything anymore.

"That is because you do not have a heart." Lexaeus explained. "When a person with a heart feels physical pain, another kind of pain often comes with it, emotional pain. The combined pain of the heart and body can be difficult for people to endure. We Nobodies feel pain only when our bodies are in danger, and it does not last as it does with living beings. This will give you an advantage, should you ever need to fight someone with a heart."

Roxas spent the rest of that day dueling with Lexaeus. When he was finally permitted to go back to his room, he went to his window and stared out into the darkness and contemplated what he had learned as he had done before.

His name was Roxas, and his job was to fight the creatures called Heartless and collect the Hearts that they held so Kingdom Hearts would be complete. When Kingdom Hearts was complete, they would all be complete and they would not disappear. Roxas did not want to disappear, so he would collect as many hearts as he had to in order to complete Kingdom Hearts.


	4. Two Keys

Axel and Roxas sat on the clock tower and watched the sunset after his first full day of heart-collecting.

"Like the ice cream?" Axel asked him.

Roxas nodded and kept munching.

"Maybe next time we'll have some tiramisu. Course' we won't be seein' each other for a while."

"Why?" asked Roxas

"I'm gonna be going to a place called Castle Oblivion. The organization discovered it a while ago and now we use it for a research facility. Not sure how long I'll be there."

When Axel finished his ice cream, he got up and clapped his hand on Roxas' shoulder.

"Well, I gotta head back and get ready. Keep workin' hard."

As Axel left, he left the portal open for Roxas, he got the idea that he should say something else to Axel, but could not think of what he should say, so he dismissed it.

* * *

><p>Axel grabbed the only two possessions he needed for his stay at Castle Oblivion, his data pad and a bottle of vodka. He then went to Saix's quarters to check out, and found Saix at his computer, typing away.<p>

"Roxas seems to be getting the hang of his job." He said and Saix replied, "Good. Vexen came to deliver his newest project. I can put it to work first thing tomorrow."

"Well, I'll be heading to C.O. now."

"I have a job for you while you're there." said Saix. "According to Xemnas, someone intends to betray us. Find out who, and then destroy them."

"That so? Alright then. Gotta stay on the boss' good list, I guess."

"Indeed."

Roxas awoke and went to the briefing room as he always did. When he got there, he saw Saix sitting at his desk, as expected. Standing next to Saix was a cloaked being about Roxas' height.

"This is Xion." said Saix, "Xion is new and inexperienced. Its job will be to collect hearts, like you. So you will take it with you on your mission so it can learn from you."

He reached out and opened a portal for them.

"Roxas, Xion is your responsibility. Make sure nothing happens to it, do you understand?"

Roxas nodded and Saix bid him to enter the portal. Roxas stepped through and Xion followed him. They emerged in an alley. Roxas peeked around a corner and saw that they were in the center of Twilight Town. Roxas stepped out cautiously and began walking across the town with Xion close behind him. All of the people seemed too busy to pay much attention to them. They went to the far side and through an opening in the wall which took them into some woods. Roxas remembered these woods, for he'd had his lesson with Vexen here. As they approached the clearing, six flower-Heartless came into view. Roxas summoned the Keyblade and they began spitting seeds at him, which he batted back at them, stunning them. He then ran over to them and hacked them all apart. He then pointed as six hearts appeared, floated into the sky, and then vanished. He turned back to Xion.

"That is how I collect Hearts." He said plainly, it felt strange to explain his job to another being. "I destroy Heartless, hearts pop out, and the hearts go to Kingdom Hearts."

He led Xion back through the town to the alley and a portal opened for them to leave through. He remembered Saix telling him that whenever he did not have an older member with him, he would be monitored and that he would not be permitted to return to the castle until his mission was complete. So he must have done all that he needed to.

"You should have eliminated six Heartless. Am I right?" he asked.

"Yes." Roxas answered.

"Good. I will continue to monitor you until I decide you can be trusted to work alone. I have one more mission for you today; it is in a world you have not yet been to. A giant Heartless has surfaced there. It is a naturally born Heartless, so it will not become a heart when slain, but it is powerful and good for your training. I will send you to the general area where it roams."

He opened another portal and Roxas entered, followed closely by Xion. It led them to a world with vast countryside and a bright red moon in the night sky. Roxas looked around for a bit and saw a great black shape moving in a gorge below. He moved closer and saw its glowing yellow eyes; it must have been the Heartless.

"Watch me, Xion."

He jumped down and hacked into the creature's back. It made no sound as it turned to face him; its head was covered in tentacles that wrapped around its face. The idea that he had seen and fought this creature entered his mind, but he neither knew nor cared why. It reached down to grab Roxas but he leapt to the right and stabbed its hand, it seemed to feel no pain whatsoever. Then Roxas got a new idea, he could throw his Keyblade and hurt it that way! He flung the Keyblade at the Heartless' head and it embedded itself in the Heartless' left eye. Roxas reached for the Keyblade and it vanished and the reappeared in his hand. The Heartless tried to grab him again but he rolled under it, sliced its skinny legs off, and it collapsed on its torso. He ran across its back to stab it in the head but it swatted him and he flew into a cliffside. The Heartless began to crawl toward him when Xion ran in front of it, holding the Keyblade! Xion stabbed the Heartless between the eyes and it dissolved into black smoke. Xion then walked over to Roxas, he got up and stared at it for a few moments, unsure what he should say to it.

"Roxas…"

The whisper seemed to come from Xion.

"Did…did you say something?" Roxas asked

"You are…Roxas." Xion whispered

"Yes, Xion. I'm Roxas." he said.

Xion then pulled its hood off so Roxas could finally see its face, it was a girl. She had glossy black hair that hung over her deep blue eyes. Her face was smooth, bright and not unpleasant to look at. Unable to think of anything to say to her, he turned to head back to the portal with her right behind him. They returned to the briefing room where Saix was waiting.

"Xion defeated the the target?" he inquired.

"Yes." Roxas answered, "Xion can use the Keyblade."

"Very good." Saix said, sounding satisfied. "You are done for today."

Roxas went straight back to his room and stared into the darkness as he always did. Xion could use the Keyblade just like he could. Did that mean she was just like him? Could Xion be a friend, like Axel?

The next day, Saix sent Roxas and Xion to Twilight Town's tunnels to destroy some soldier Heartless. Roxas managed to find five and took them out easily. Xion found five more and defeated them almost as easily with her own Keyblade. Unable to find any more, they went back to the portal that was left open for them but Roxas got another idea.

"Follow me, Xion." he said. "I want to show you something."

"Okay." Xion said softly.

Roxas led her out of the tunnels and to the train station, the two of them kept their hoods up as they were told but none of the people paid any attention to them. He took her inside the building and up to the top of the clock tower where Axel had taken him. The two of them sat there watching the sun set.

"Axel brought me up here after I met him." Roxas explained. "Axel is my first friend."

"What is a friend?" Xion asked.

Roxas thought about his answer for a moment and said, "A friend is someone who hangs out with you."

"Am I your friend, Roxas?"

"I…I guess you are." Roxas said.

* * *

><p>Sora, Krillin, and Gohan were camping on the countryside of an unknown world that they came into when they made it out of the Realm of Darkness a few days ago. The journey was not as comfortable without the Gummiship. Ansem was gone, but occasionally a pack of Heartless would appear to challenge them, mostly Shadows though. Lately Sora had an unexplainable feeling that someone else was using the Kingdom Key. He didn't see how this was possible. Not even a magical weapon like a Keyblade could be in two places at once…or could it?<p> 


	5. Rome

Roxas awoke to the same endless black sky he had come to associate with his home. On his way to the briefing room, he passed Xion.

"Good morning Xion." he said, though he did not even know what morning was.

Xion simply stared at him before repeating the phrase.

"Good…morning…"

Roxas Stared for a moment, unable to think of anything else he should say and entered the briefing room, where Saix and Xigbar were waiting for him. Xigbar was a tall and rather thin man with a black patch over his right eye, long grey-brown hair in a ponytail, and a blackened scar across his cheek.

"It's you and me today, kiddo." he barked.

"You'll be going to a new world today. Xigbar, you'll be doing your usual work. Roxas, you'll be taking care of some Heartless known as Gargoyles."

"Gar…goyles…"

"Yes. They're winged Heartless so they should be easy enough to spot, now go."

Xigbar pushed his way into the portal with Roxas right behind him and emerged in a really old looking network of archways, pillars and balconies, almost looking like ruins. The sky was clear, like Twilight Town and the bustle of the city was evident.

"Dazzled by the scenery?" Xigbar asked. "I'm gonna do some recon. You go find your Heartless and then report back to Saix. If anyone sees ya, just take em' out."

With that, he leapt away with cat-like swiftness, leaving Roxas alone. He turned, looking down one of the many alleys, not knowing where he should start. Taking a breath, he began to walk the streets of this strange land. The Gargoyles had to be around somewhere…

* * *

><p>Xigbar stood on a stone gargoyle, overlooking the vast town. This was his REAL mission; now that both Roxas and Xion wielded the Keyblade, Xemnas was more concerned about their progress… and they both knew a number of organization members were untrustworthy, they needed to be ready.<p>

"Time for a little bit of fun." Xigbar jeered to himself, joining his arrowguns together to form a rifle-like weapon. Aiming at a large building, Xigbar licked his upper teeth with glee as he fired for two individuals walking the grounds. With that, he flung his hood up and leapt from rooftop to rooftop, not even waiting to see if he hit his mark. Coming to a halt when he saw Roxas, he raised his weapon once more.

"This feels oddly familiar…" he chuckled as he shot at Roxas. Roxas looked around quickly, trying to spot where the shot came from. Xigbar was already gone.

* * *

><p>A pair of uniformed young men were walking down the path outside of the Social Welfare Agency, chatting among themselves.<p>

"So… there really IS darkness on the rise, Jean?"

"Yes, Jose, the girl's are becoming more invaluable by the day at this rate. I don't think it's just Heartless we need to worry about anymore…"

The two were top assassins, but their skill was no match for the 'girls'. Cyborgs, actually; the girls of the Social Welfare Agency were cybernetic assassins with skills unmatched, trained by their chosen superior and created for the safety and stability of Rome, although at some times, this could only be argued. In recent times, however, their attention had been turned to the Heartless that were now on the rise. Suddenly, without warning, Jean pulled Jose back, a shining bolt flying just inches before his face. They both pulled their sidearms and turned to see a cloaked figure in the distance hurrying off.

"'I told you so', Jean?"

"I told you so…"

The two turned and hurried off. This was the last thing they needed, someone gunning for the Agency's workers. They ran right past Hilshire and Triela, his cyborg assassin.

"I wonder what's going on." Triela said quietly as she and Hilshire hurried to join the two brothers.

* * *

><p>Roxas hurried through the streets, passing several people here and there as he raced in the direction the shot came from. Maybe someone was after him, for all he knew. Finally, he saw it. A figure wearing an identical black cloak was taking aim at him with a large rifle-like weapon. It looked familiar… in fact, staring at it aimed toward him felt familiar, as if he'd been in that situation before. Drawing his Keyblade, he swung as a shining bolt flew for him. This person meant business. Roxas ran but was once again forced onto the defensive when the figure began to fire a fierce barrage at him, Roxas swinging tirelessly to knock them all away. With that, the figure gave a nod and rushed for Roxas, who was completely unready for this. Standing ready to counter his opponent, Roxas watched as the figure shot right past him. Turning, Roxas hurried for him. With Xigbar gone, he couldn't let an unknown enemy escape. Roxas ran as his enemy led him to a large plaza. Why was he leading him on like this? As soon as the figure leapt from the edge, Roxas charged, full speed. He came to a stop, trying to see where the man had run off to when a shot rang out, Roxas feeling his hair whip as burning steel flew by his face. Looking to the distance, Roxas saw a glint in the shadows… a sniper! He'd been lead into a trap. Roxas jumped into the plaza only for a spray of bullets the meet him. A girl younger than his age with short brown hair was firing for him. Roxas hurried away, spotting an open manhole and leapt down into it.<p>

"Hold it!"

Roxas turned to see a bayonet lift to his face. They were waiting for him the whole time.

"So… you're the one who's been causing all the trouble today…"

As Roxas' eyes adjusted to the dim light, he saw a tall, blond girl near his age, holding some kind of gun at him. Narrowing his eyes, Roxas gripped his Keyblade.

"Don't move!" the girl growled. "Drop that sword, now." she said, barely glancing at the Keyblade.

Roxas ignored the girl's demands and knocked her gun aside. The expression on her face told him that she was not expecting this. He then struck her hard in the head and she fell to the floor, clutching her head as red liquid trickled down her face. Lexaeus was right about fighting people with hearts! This girl didn't like being hurt one bit; Roxas could probably beat her if he didn't let her fight back.

* * *

><p>Glaring up at him, Triela shot up and punched the boy square in the jaw, knocking him to his knees. His face seemed oddly complacent, however, and he got up again, no marks visible on his face. Triela kicked her weapon up and swung the stock of it at him, hitting him hard in the gut and she kneed his side, sending him stumbling back. Triela hurried back and raised her gun and fired, the burst flying right at her foe. Seeing this, he jumped to the side of the sewer wall, just barely missing the shower of pellets. Triela hurried off once again, turning back to take another shot, but stared when she saw what happened next. The strange boy sent a ball of fire at her, shooting as fast as a bullet. She quickly leapt to the ground, the flaming ball sailing over her. Whipping her gun back up, she fired again at him, this time leaving a shallow slice in his cloak. Before she could reload, however, they both heard a deep, rumbling growl. They turned and saw that the ball of fire struck a large Heartless. It turned around and flew deeper into the sewer. The strange boy leapt over her and sprinted after it.<p>

"Don't go in there!" she shouted, but the boy vanished from her sight.

"Stupid kid." she hissed.

She climbed out of the sewer to meet Henrietta.

"Did you get him?" She asked in her sweet little voice.

"No, he went after one of those Heartless. No way he's coming out of there alive."

Before Henrietta could respond, Rico began to signal them. They were needed topside. The two girls hurried as soon as they heard the loud cracking of Rico's rifle. Climbing up to the balcony Rico was initially stationed at, they saw a saw several large Heartless gliding for them.

"What are those things! A new Heartless?" Triela called as she began to reload her her shotgun, Henrietta switching clips. Rico took aim at one and fired, the trio watching it burst into black smoke. The other two readied themselves as the flock grew closer, Rico firing on another. There were five left. How much more could Rico pick off? The next time Rico fired, the others scrambled as she took one down. Suddenly, from the manhole, a flaming Gargoyle shot up, with the strange boy hanging onto its legs. The girls watched as he began to hack at it, the Heartless shaking him off as it rose higher into the sky. The boy came to a halt before the girls who each raised their weapons at him.

* * *

><p>Roxas pointed at the advancing Gargoyles came on them. Triela turned quickly and fired, Henrietta did the same as Rico pulled her sidearm and began to fire on the Heartless. Roxas watched as the girls fought on, the crackling of bullets and burning of gunpowder filling the air. Roxas turned quickly as he heard the same blazing Gargoyle swoop down and swing at him. As Roxas flopped to the ground, the girls could only watch as they still fought with their Heartless. Just as the beast reared back to finish him off, Roxas saw a shining bolt strike the Gargoyle. As it fell to the ground, Roxas stabbed it and it burst into smoke. He saw the same hooded figure nod to him, hurrying off once again. Grunting, Roxas climbed to his feet, wanting to catch him his time. He was half-way out of the alley when the blond girl from earlier dropped down and her bayonet at his throat. At that same moment, he pressed the tip of his Keyblade against her chest. They stared each other in the eyes for about a minute and then the girl lowered her weapon and backed slowly away from him. He dashed past her and made it out of the alley, where Xigbar was waiting for him.<p>

"Did ya get your Heartless?" he asked.

"Yes." Roxas muttered. "Where do they come from…the Heartless?"

"That's not for you to know. C'mon, let's head back."

* * *

><p>Triela walked silently with Henrietta and Rico up the steps of the Agency, their Handlers behind them, silent as well.<p>

"_So, what happened?"_

"_He got away, Hilshire. It's my fault and my fault alone."_

"_Did you get a visual on him? Was he the one in the cloak we got the description on?"_

"_Yes."_

The trios parted ways, the girls making their way to their dormitories.

"_What's our next move?"_

"_We keep it all on file, Jose. Officially, this case is closed, but I'm sure the chief will want us to keep tabs on whoever this is… I don't think whoever the girls met is the one who attacked us."_

"_You're never this skeptical, Jean. Something bothering you?"_

"_That's none of your damn business, Hilshire. I'll leave you two to your own devices."_

Jean turned toward the chief's study as Jose and Hilshire turned to the cafeteria. They knew what Jean told them on the way back was right. They were the ones who had met with the cloaked stranger… or possibly strangers. They would be the ones to keep watch if they ever returned.

* * *

><p>Xigbar dragged the unconscious Roxas into his quarters and tossed him onto his bed. He had collapsed on their way back to the castle and not woken since. Saix and Xemnas were also there to see what had happened.<p>

"I wonder if he'll wake up." Xigbar said, of course he really cared very little.

"It is too early to say." said Xemnas, pragmatic as always. "Something must have happened to Sora."

"We needn't stop collecting hearts." Saix reminded them. "Xion can do Roxas' job until he wakes up."

As Saix and Xigbar left, Xemnas continued to observe Roxas.

"So…" he muttered, "Sleep has taken you yet again." He was not sure why this notion came to his mind, but this all seemed hauntingly familiar.

* * *

><p><strong>Note from the author: <strong>My buddy, ShaD.23 took care of most of this chapter.


	6. Reunion

Roxas opened his eyes and slowly got out of his bed, unable to remember anything after his mission to Rome. He assumed that he should start this day like any other so he went to the briefing room but found it empty. He then went to Saix's quarters and entered to find Saix at work on his computer. He turned around to acknowledge Roxas.

"You're awake, good." he said.

"How long was I asleep?" Roxas asked.

"Twenty four days."

Roxas stared at him for a moment.

"I…don't understand."

"Forget it." said Saix, "It's time to get back to work. You can look for Heartless in Twilight Town."

Saix reached out, opened a portal, and Roxas entered without another word. A few seconds later, his door slid open again and Axel entered.

"Yo." he said.

"Axel…What have you been doing all this time? Where are the others?"

Axel told Saix all about the events at Castle Oblivion, about Marluxia's plan to use Sora as a weapon against Xemnas, about what Namine did to his memories, and about how he got rid of Vexen and Zexion.

"Gotta hand it to ya." he said, "You were right to send em' all to C.O."

"All I did was find a place to send everyone who was getting in the way. Now, where is Sora?"

"No idea."

"What about Namine?"

Axel shook his head.

"This could be a problem." said Saix

"I don't think so." Axel replied. "It's not like she can tell anyone where we are. She's never been out of C.O."

"True, but if Roxas runs into Sora it could complicate our plans."

"I don't think that'll be a problem. A couple days ago, I was in Twilight Town. I spotted Riku and I decided to follow him."

"Riku...isn't he the kid who...?"

"Yeah, he was talking to someone. I didn't see who it was but Riku was telling him that Sora was still asleep and wouldn't wake up for a while. Those were his exact words. It sounded like Sora was in a coma or something, probably because of what Namine did to him."

Saix contemplated for a moment.

"About three weeks ago, Roxas went into a coma. He just woke up today…and now that he's awake…Sora might be awake too."

"I know Sora." Axel stated, "If he were awake, he'd be out doing his thing by now."

"Then perhaps…" Saix proposed, "…we should try to find him and make sure he doesn't wake up."

"Well, that's something to discuss with the boss. By the way, is Roxas here?"

"I just sent him to Twilight Town." Saix answered, turning back to his computer.

"Thanks." said Axel, and with that, he left.

There was something different about Axel today, but Saix didn't think much of it.

* * *

><p>While Roxas searched for Heartless in the tunnels, he could not stop thinking about Axel. He wanted to know where he was, he also wanted to know where Xion was. Unable to find anything but Shadows in the tunnels, he left to search the allies.<p>

"Hey, Roxas."

Roxas turned around to see Axel leaning against a wall with his arms folded.

"Axel…" he muttered.

"That's my name, got it memorized?"

Roxas struggled to find the right word and it finally popped into his mind.

"Glad…" he whispered

"Come again?" asked Axel

"I'm…glad…you're back." said Roxas.

Axel scratched his head.

"Well that's interesting, seeing as ya don't have a heart to feel with. Wanna get some ice cream?"

Roxas went ahead to the clock tower and Axel soon joined him with two ice cream bars. As they sat, munching on their bars, Roxas surprised Axel with a conversation.

"Axel, I have a new friend…Xion. She's like me, she can use the Keyblade."

"That right?"

"Yes, I brought her up here after a mission once, but I don't know where she is now."

"Want me to find out for you?"

Roxas gave him his usual blank stare and replied "yes."

"Alright, you take your time and I'll go find out for you. See ya."

He got up and left through a portal, keeping it open for Roxas. He would have to teach Roxas how to open portals so he could take his friend to the clock tower whenever he wanted. When he got back to the castle he found Saix in the lounge.

"Has the new kid come back yet?" he asked.

"I sent Xion to Twilight Town this morning, before Roxas woke up. Its mission was to eliminate a certain Heartless. It still hasn't returned. Tomorrow you and Roxas can go and find out what happened to it."

"What was Xion's target?"

"A Veil Lizard. If you happen to find it during your search, you can have Roxas eliminate it."


	7. Three Friends

Roxas hurried down to the briefing room where Axel and Saix were waiting for him.

"Well, Roxas." said Axel "Your friend was sent on a mission to Twilight Town but never returned. So that's where we're going today."

"Okay." Roxas muttered and he followed Axel through a portal which took them to a back alley in Twilight Town.

"Where do we look?" Roxas asked.

"Xion was sent to look for a Heartless called a Veil Lizard. If we can find it, we might find Xion too."

Axel led Roxas out of the alley to the sandlot and paused when he noticed two kids talking to each other.

"A moan?" the boy questioned.

"Yes!" said the girl, "I heard a deep moan!"

"How deep in the tunnels?"

"In the center."

"You didn't see what was making it?"

"Are you kidding? I was scared! I got out of there as fast as I could!"

"Hmm, a moan…" Axel whispered. "That could be our Heartless. Let's go check it out."

Roxas followed Axel through the tunnels until they got to the center, but it was empty and silent.

"Hi!" said a strange voice.

Roxas and Axel turned around and saw a short, heavy boy with wild, dark hair walking up to them.

"You guys looking for something?"

"You could say that." said Axel. "We heard a rumor about a moan."

"A moan…" the boy repeated "Oh, you must mean that vent."

He pointed to a large vent in the upper left corner.

"When the air goes through that vent it creates a lot of echoes, so I guess it would sound like a moan. You wanna know something really creepy though?"

"What's that?" Axel asked, growing impatient and bored.

"There's this tree in the woods; they say if you touch it, the whole place starts to shake and people feel like they're being watched, even though it's deserted."

"That right?" Axel asked, now interested.

"Yeah. I haven't tried it yet, though. Well, I have to go. See ya later."

"So people are feeling some kind of presence in the woods." said Axel, turning to Roxas. "That's gotta be our Heartless. C'mon."

Axel opened a portal which took them straight to the woods and he started kicking some trees Roxas began to do the same when they heard rustling all around them.

"There!" Axel called.

He was pointing to a shadow moving toward the mansion. They ran after it and as soon as it got into the light, the Veil Lizard became visible. It was a bit taller than Axel, had dark green skin, a long tail, and stood on its back legs.

"No wonder Xion couldn't find it! It was practically invisible!"

"Where is she?" Roxas wondered.

"Probably still out looking for it." Axel guessed. "Well, let's take it out before in vanishes again."

The lizard opened its mouth and shot its tongue out at Roxas, who rolled to the left. Axel summoned his chakrams, spun them to generate intense heat and hurled them into the lizard, burning a large hole in its belly. Roxas then hurled his Keyblade into its head. It stomped toward him, staggered, and collapsed, producing another heart, which floated into the sky and vanished.

"Not bad, Roxas."

Roxas was looking all around him for Xion, and finally he saw her running over to them.

"Xion…"

She stared at him and then at Axel.

"You're awake…and…you destroyed the Heartless." she said "That's…good."

Axel introduced himself and reached out. After a moment's hesitation, Xion took his hand and shook it."

"I think you kids deserve some ice cream."

"What's ice cream?" Xion asked.

"You'll see. Roxas, take Xion to the clock tower. I'll get us some ice cream."

"Follow me, Xion." said Roxas.

_So that's Xion… _Axel thought as he headed toward the ice cream shop.

_She looks like that girl of Sora's…weird._

When he got to the back of the shop, he opened a portal which took him to the freezer. Most of the popular flavors like chocolate and strawberry were in short supply, but there was a big box full of sea-salt, his favorite flavor. He reached in and took some as he always did, then he left. He wondered if anyone ever noticed that some was missing, probably not, as dim-witted as the folks in this town were. He took a portal to the clock tower where Roxas and Xion were waiting for him and handed them each a bar.

"I brought Roxas up here the day I met him." he said.

"Roxas brought me here to." Xion said "That was a long time ago, but I still remember."

"Ya like it here?"

"Yes."

"How about the ice cream?"

"Yes." Xion said after her first bite.

"Axel."

"What's up?"

"Am I your friend?"

"Sure." Axel said, eating his bar in one gulp. "Any friend of Roxas is a friend of mine."


	8. Forland Castle

Roxas and Xion sat before Saix in the briefing room. He was sending them to a world called Forland Kingdom. Axel stood by the window, waiting to be briefed on his mission.

"Neoshadows have surfaced in Forland. Find and eliminate them." he said. "While you are there, find out what you can about the castle and the people who live there."

Roxas nodded and entered the portal with Xion right behind him.

"Neos don't turn into hearts when they die." said Axel, a little confused.

"True, but if they capture hearts they will create more Neos, and that's not what we want. We want more Emblem Heartless."

"Ah, gotcha."

"You're mission today is recon. I believe you're familiar with Cross Academy?"

"Yeah, the vampire school. Good thing I don't have blood."

* * *

><p>Roxas and Xion emerged from the darkness outside a castle. It was built very differently from the organization's castle. It was about the same size but a bit more compact and noticeably more colorful.<p>

"I…like this castle." Roxas said.

"Roxas…"

"Yes, Xion?"

Xion was silent and Roxas turned to face her.

"What is it, Xion?"

"I…I can't…summon my Keyblade."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I've tried, but I can't."

Roxas stared at Xion, unable to think of any way to comfort her.

"They're going to turn me into a Dusk when they find out they can't use me anymore." she muttered.

Roxas remembered Xemnas' warning about being turned into a Dusk, Xion must have been feeling the same way Roxas felt that night; she clearly did not want to be a Dusk. If she were a Dusk, she might not remember him and they could not be friends anymore. Roxas did not want that. He summoned his own Keyblade and Xion stared at it looking helpless.

"Use mine." he said, handing it to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes."

Roxas pressed his hand against the castle's wall and opened a portal large enough for him to squeeze through. He found himself in one of its many halls. It was empty, save for a single guard patrolling at the far end. He waited for the guard to leave and led Xion into what must have been the throne room. It was very colorful with all sorts of fascinating decorations.

"Look."

Xion pointed to a flat, black, humanoid shape moving across the floor. Before either of them could get a good look at it, it slid underneath a wall. Roxas rushed over to the wall and touched it, doubtful that it would accomplish anything, and part of it shifted back, revealing a passage. He began to walk down the passage with Xion at his side.

They trekked on until they were quite deep within the castle's walls. Finally two of their targets surfaced. They were as tall as Roxas with black human-like bodies and long tendrils protruding from the backs of their heads. The first Neoshadow slid forward and tried to slash Xion with its claws but she rolled past it and stabbed it in the back. She tried to behead the second but it sank into the floor, reemerged behind her, and grabbed her. Roxas suddenly felt very uncomfortable seeing Xion in danger, though it was only for a moment. Xion slid out of the Neoshadow's grip, hacked its head off and its body dissolved into black smoke. Another appeared and grabbed Roxas, but he shoved it toward Xion and she ran it through. Four more emerged from the ground but before anyone could make a move, a woman dropped down and sliced them all in half with a sword. She had long, bright blond hair, and scarlet eyes. She wore a white gown and a gold tiara, like a…princess…yes that was the word…this woman was a princess. She stared at the two of them for a few moments; she didn't seem to perceive them as a threat. Roxas reached out, opened a portal and pulled Xion inside. They ran through the corridor of darkness and did not stop until an opening appeared which took them to the tunnels of Twilight Town.

* * *

><p>Princess Alita sat in the dining hall with her right-hand man, (actually a cyborg) Dominikov and her faithful yet strict servant, Jodo. Her real name was Falis, and she used to be a bounty hunter, but she embraced the name Alita when she agreed to protect this kingdom and become its new princess.<p>

"You seem troubled, your majesty." said Jodo.

"More of those things?" Dominikov guessed.

"Yeah," said Alita, "but there were two strangers in black cloaks too. Kids, I think."

"You think they brought the things here?"

"No. They were fighting them."

"Did you see their faces?" Jodo inquired.

"Nah, they had their hoods up. I don't think they meant any harm. Still, I would like to know what they were doing in my…in **our castle**."

* * *

><p>Xion handed Roxas back his Keyblade and he suggested that she try to summon her own again. In just two tries, she was able to summon it.<p>

"You're going to be…alright now?" he asked.

"I think so." she said. "Yes, I'm going to be fine now…because you…you helped me."

Xion wanted to say something else to Roxas but she wasn't sure what she should say. As the two of them sat on the clock tower, they discussed what happened on their mission.

"That woman we saw…" said Roxas "She was a princess."

"A princess?"

"Yeah. She was the ruler of that castle…but she fought those Neoshadows by herself. That's strange."

"Why?"

"Xemnas is our ruler, but if Heartless came into our castle we'd be the ones fighting, not him."

"Maybe she has a reason."

After they finished their ice cream, they waited for Axel to come but he never did, so they went back to the castle and Roxas told Saix about the princess. That night, Roxas sat on his bed and stared out his window. He could not stop thinking about the way he felt when he saw Xion being attacked. Why had he felt so uncomfortable?


	9. Promise

Xion sat in the lounge waiting for Roxas or Axel to return so they could have ice cream together when Saix entered.

"A powerful Heartless just surfaced in Forland." he said flatly. "Eliminate it." Without another word, he turned about and strode back down the hall. Saix never spoke to Xion unless he was giving her a command and he never looked at her for very long. Once or twice she thought she heard him refer to her as "it." He treated her like she was an object, not a person and it made her…uncomfortable. She got up and opened a portal which would take her to Forland.

It was daytime when Xion arrived in Forland and she really liked the way it looked. She could clearly see the amount of detail that went into the architecture of the castle, and the town. She could also hear countless cheers coming from it. She scaled the high wall surrounding the town and saw the princess being carried through the streets on a carriage, surrounded by the town's citizens. It appeared to be some sort of celebration. But a loud bang in the distance caught everyone's attention and a ball of orange flame sailed past Xion.

She turned around and looked out into the countryside to see a mammoth box-shaped wooden structure rolling toward the town on two sets of wheels. The thing had a cannon sticking out of its mouth-like hatch and three tiny figures standing on top of it. Xion could tell by the emblem on its front that it was a Heartless. It launched three more fire balls into the town and before Xion could decide what to do, the princess leapt over the wall with her sword in hand to confront it. Xion dropped down and ran after the princess, thinking she was going to have to stop her from fighting her target but the princess was much faster.

The princess dashed from side to side to avoid the fire balls and leapt to the top of the structure to slice up the three armored Heartless riding it. She then began hacking away at the structure but five Soldier Heartless appeared and tackled her. They fell over the edge and the structure's "mouth" opened again. A large metal ball rolled out and exploded the moment it touched the princess, sending her flying. This was just what Xion needed; she dashed forward, as fast as her thin legs would allow, and dove into the mouth before it closed again.

Inside the structure were three more of the little armored imps. They let out gibbering yells and tackled her; she rolled around for a bit and hacked them apart. She then turned her attention to a large pale, fleshy sack in the middle; it was pulsating which made Xion wonder if it was what made this thing move. She plunged her Keyblade into it and purple liquid spilled out. It wasn't long before the structure stopped moving and went silent. She broke the rear hatch apart and dove out the back as the whole thing transformed back into a heart. The heart flew into the sky and vanished, Xion's mission was complete but she was curious about the princess. She saw the princess' subjects gather around her: a servant girl with purple hair, a tiny old man with a silver beard, a small spiky-haired creature with a skull-like face, and a large man with pinkish purple skin, who lifted the princess. Xion moved a bit closer and hid behind a tree.

"That…thing…" the princess groaned.

"It's alright." the servant girl said gently. "It's gone."

"Was it you guys?" the princess groaned.

"Nah." the skull-faced creature said. "It just kinda…vanished."

The princess sighed, apparently satisfied.

"You've been keeping your promise, and we're all grateful…" said the old man, "…but I wish you'd stop trying to do so much on your own. The kingdom would be heartbroken if it lost you."

So that was why the princess was fighting. She was supposed to keep a…promise, but what was a promise?

* * *

><p>Axel sat at the clock tower eating some French fries. Occasionally, he would toss one to a hungry seagull. A portal opened and Xion emerged and sat down next to him.<p>

"Where's Roxas?" she asked.

"Still working probably." said Axel, "Saix has been keeping him busy lately."

"Axel, can you tell me what a promise is?"

"A promise…" said Axel, scratching his head. "A promise is…something special that happens between two people with hearts. If a person needs something, he can have someone make a promise and they'll do what that person asks."

"Like an order?"

"No, it's not like an order; it's more like an agreement. Promises usually happen between friends. One friend can promise to help or comfort another friend. When friends make promises, they're bound by them."

"What happens if someone doesn't keep a promise?"

"They make their friends feel bad. Why do you want to know this?"

Xion told him about the princess and how her servant told her she was keeping her promise.

"So then this princess must have promise to protect her kingdom from invaders." Axel concluded.

"Do you need a heart to make a promise?" Xion asked.

"I'm pretty sure you do." said Axel.


	10. Failure

Saix sat in the lounge listening to a report from Xigbar.

"There's a spy in our midst." he sneered.

"A spy?" Saix asked. "You're sure?"

"Course I'm sure." said Xigbar. "I could tell by his weapon."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I saw him standing on a building, just looking at the castle," Xigbar explained, "which I thought was suspicious, so I decided to shoot at him and he blocked my shots with a black and red sword. It was shaped like a bat's wing."

"It must be that Riku kid." Saix deduced.

"Who's that?"

"One of Sora's companions." said Saix. "He caused some trouble in C.O. which the traitors tried to use to their advantage, but now that he knows where we operate, he could cause more trouble."

"I'll have Snipers posted on each tower." said Xigbar. "They can keep watch, round the clock."

"Good. If he comes back, we can take him out and Sora will have one less ally."

* * *

><p>That morning, when Xion entered the briefing room she found Saix sitting at his desk. He was looking at her the same way he looked at Dusks.<p>

"A spy has been discovered." he told her.

"A spy?"

"Yes, a stranger wearing one of our uniforms and wielding a red and black sword. He has just been sighted in Forland, taking out some of our Nobodies. Find him and do not return until you eliminate him."

She obediently entered the portal he opened for her and strode through the corridor of darkness. She wondered if Saix would treat her more like a member if she eliminated the spy.

Forland was dark when she arrived; she hoped she would be able to spot the spy. As she trekked across the countryside, she spotted a couple of Dusks in the moon's dim light. She ran toward them to warn them about the spy but came to a halt when a better idea came to her: If she stayed out of sight and kept an eye on the Dusks, the spy might come to eliminate them, when he did, she could take him by surprise.

She followed the Dusks for about twenty minutes when a black cloaked figure dashed out from some trees and beheaded them both in one swift move. Xion could make out the bright red highlights of his sword and saw that his hood was down. He had white hair and had a black cloth wrapped around his head, covering his eyes. He was definitely not a member of the organization. She sprinted out from her hiding place and began striking at him, though he evaded each strike. He then parried a quick thrust she made and shoved her back. She pointed her Keyblade at him to shoot a fireball but he knocked it out of her hand with a fireball of his own. He then grabbed her arm, hurled her onto the ground, and pulled her hood off. He lifted the cloth covering his eyes, which were blue-green and unmistakably familiar.

"You're face…" he gasped. "What are you?"

"Tell me first, why you are dressed like one of us." she demanded.

"To make sure my friend sleeps in peace." he replied, picking up her Keyblade. "This Keyblade is a fake…just like you."

"I…I am not a fake…" she said, "Why did you say that?"

The boy did not reply but tossed her Keyblade aside and walked away. She picked it up and charged at him but he whirled around, and knocked her into a pond. When she crawled out, he was gone. Suddenly a series of images began flashing in her mind: her being knocked off an island by that same white-haired boy, that boy striking her in the face with her own Keyblade, nearly knocking her off a cliff, and many other images of her losing to him. When the visions stopped, a cry erupted from her, brief but loud. She stood breathing heavily, wondering what made her cry out and wondering if she would have more visions. When nothing else happened, she opened a portal and ran into it.

She spent the next ten hours looking for the white-haired boy. She looked in Twilight Town, in the Accursed Dominion, in Rome, and every other world she knew how to get to, but she could not find him. She would have to tell Saix that she failed and he would have her turned into a Dusk. She would not be friends with Roxas and Axel anymore, she would not be able to remember them, knowing this made her feel bad…very bad. She had this feeling when she couldn't summon her Keyblade, she didn't know how to describe it. When she finally made it the castle's corridors she dragged herself a few feet before her vision went black.

* * *

><p>Roxas returned from the castle after a long day of heart collecting in a desert world. He was tired and headed for his quarters, but he ran into Axel.<p>

"Roxas, something's happened to Xion." he said.

"What?"

Axel took him to the lab where Xion was lying, on a metal slab.

"What…happened?"

"She got sent on a mission and when she got back, she collapsed."

"Is she…going to wake up?"

"Dunno, we'll just have to see."

With that, Axel left and Saix entered soon after.

"Roxas, you are not supposed to be in here." he said.

"But…Xion…"

"There is nothing you can do. It failed its mission and will remain here until Xemnas decides what to do with it." Saix stated. He didn't understand that Xion was Roxas' friend.

"I should still be with her. She's…like me." he insisted.

"It's useless to you now." Saix said, as though he were talking about a tool.

"Don't say that!" Roxas said, more loudly than he meant to. Hearing Saix talk about Xion this way was making him feel…different. He had never felt this way before.

"Xion is no longer your concern, now get out."

Roxas glanced back at Xion and reluctantly went back to his quarters.

Saix watched Roxas walk slowly back to his quarters. It was ridiculous for him to make such a fuss over a tool of the trade, and a defective tool at that. Roxas was not born like other Nobodies, his original self still existed. Roxas had no past and therefore no basis for acting, so it made no sense for him to behave this way. If he became too hard to control, he would have to be eliminated.


	11. Gold Crown Town

Roxas made a quick trip to the lab so he could check on Xion, before hurrying to the briefing room, where Luxord was waiting for him. Luxord was a tall blond man with a thin goatee and several earrings.

"How has the game been treating you, Roxas?" he asked politely, his aqua eyes glinting.

"Fine, I guess." Roxas replied.

"Saix shuffled us together today." Luxord stated. "I wager we'll make a good pair."

He opened a portal and Roxas followed him through the darkness. Roxas wasn't even paying attention as he shuffled his feet walking through the swirling void. Before he knew it, he was standing on shining cobblestones, similar to the streets of Rome. However, there was much more bustling chatter hanging in the air.

"Keep your head in the game." Luxord said sharply as he raised his hood.

Roxas naturally thought he should do the same and covered his head. The two organization members looked around the streets. Peddlers sold their wares as smiths tended their work, people in uniforms hurried to large buildings, it seemed an average town (or at least an ideal one after the worlds they had visited).

"Hey! I'm walking here!"

"Roxas turned quickly as a young man with long, untidy black hair and sharp eyes (dressed in a uniform as well) grumbled as he walked to join several others.

"I wonder what his problem is." Roxas said.

Luxord paid the boy little mind. Without a word, he started off, Roxas hurrying behind him.

"What are we looking for?" Roxas asked.

"We are on reconnaissance today," Luxord explained. "This is a strange world, and Saix wants us to see how to best play our cards here."

Roxas followed Luxord, wondering in what way it could be unique. What if Xion were well? Would it be him and Xion scouting this town instead? Just then, Roxas walked right into someone.

"I'm terribly sorry."

Before Roxas could look up, he felt to arms stretch around him in a tight embrace. Was this person attacking him? It didn't seem like it. As she let him go, Roxas saw it to be some kind of large animal, walking on two legs like a human!

"My name is Fillicia." she said with a snort, flipping a long, stringy mane behind her head, and equally stringy long tail hanging behind her. Why would she introduce herself? People here seemed very different from organization members.

"Roxas! Don't fall behind!" called his hooded companion.

Roxas nodded to Luxord then hurried off as the horse-like girl waved him off.

"I see you've found why this world is so unique, yes?"

Roxas wondered to himself about this town. Taking another look around, he saw numerous other animals walking the streets, including an anteater, a crocodile, and even saw a tiny bat dressed in the same uniform as the young man from before flying to one of the large buildings.

"What do you think of this town so far, Roxas?" Luxord asked as he and Roxas entered a bazaar.

Roxas didn't know what to think of it.

"Well, since it would seem that you'll hold, I'll wager a bet as to what goes on in this world." Luxord said as he took a great leap onto a ledge, Roxas watching.

Luxord scaled the building until he came to the roof and threw open a portal, its match opening beside Roxas a brief moment later. Stepping in, Roxas found himself by Luxord's side again. The two turned and saw a wide courtyard with many uniformed youths hurrying from building to building.

"They're all dressed in uniforms… and they all come to these buildings…"

"Very good, then, Roxas. Why do you think that is?"

Roxas looked on. They were all carrying bags and books. They didn't seem to be in an organization like him and Luxord, but then what were they doing?

"It seemed to me this is some sort of academy." Luxord said.

Roxas looked on. What was an academy?

"These children come here to learn and study." Luxord when on, although Roxas wondered what they would study.

Didn't Xemnas say that with hearts they would have all answers?

"The people of this world also seem to be intermixed with animals… like a fairy tale." Luxord pointed out

Roxas looked at Luxord. A fairy tale? That word sounded very familiar to Roxas. Before he and Luxord could continue on, Roxas heard a shrill screech as a large raven flew by, its razor-like talons slicing at Roxas' cheek, Luxord turning quickly as the raven flew away.

"That was unusual." Luxord narrowed his eyes. "Let's raise the stakes, shall we?" he said, his lips curling. "Roxas, I'm going to follow that raven. Stay here and keep a look out."

Before Roxas could respond, Luxord gave him a shove, Roxas gave a startled gasp, landing in a deep waterway. Kicking hard, Roxas surfaced and flopped out onto the cobblestone street. What was Luxord thinking? Before he could ponder this anymore, however, Roxas felt someone step on him.

"QUACK! Uh-oh…"

Roxas felt whoever it was take their foot from his back (a girl, judging from the voice he heard). Turning, Roxas saw a tiny yellow duck with an untidy bunch of feathers on her head. Wondering where the girl from before had gone, Roxas noticed a uniform lying around the duck, a school bag and a few books also lying around.

"Hey… are you a girl?" Roxas asked.

At this, the duck hurriedly scooped up the uniform and hurried off, Roxas sitting dumbfounded. Roxas hurried to his feet and chased after the duck, a few feathers leaving a trail behind. He saw the bundled uniform shooting across the courtyard and watched as the duck hurried to a grand fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Just before the duck could reach it, however, he heard it quack loudly and rush for him, looking frazzled. Why was it running?

"ROXAS!" he heard from above.

Turning to look, he saw Luxord grappling with a mammoth, vulture-like beast. Its skeletal body clutched a giant treasure chest and its wings looked like they were made from gleaming swords. Before Roxas could react, the tiny duck hurried up his cloak and clutched his hood. This was no ordinary animal.

"Roxas, now!" roared Luxord as he swung a hand full of cards for the heartless, the cards turning giant and slicing into the creature.

As the heartless swerved in the sky, Luxord was bucked from its back and plummeted to the ground, landing safely beside Roxas.

"Tell me, Roxas," Luxord said slowly. "Do you enjoy a good gamble?"

Roxas didn't know what to say.

"Do you or do you not?" Luxord asked sharply.

"I… I guess…" Roxas said, not knowing how he should respond.

At this, Luxord chuckled. Seizing the front of Roxas' cloak, Luxord jerked Roxas forward.

"Then by all means, show me how well YOU gamble."

Before Roxas could ask Luxord what he was doing, his companion flung Roxas toward the flying behemoth, his hood whipping off in the wind, the tiny duck barely clinging on. Roxas knew he had to be quick. This heartless looked dangerous. Drawing his Keyblade, Roxas swung hard for the beast as the duck screeched for him to turn away (although that was hardly possible given his current predicament) and quacked loudly in terror. Roxas buried his Keyblade in the beast's forehead and it began to swoop wildly about the courtyard skies.

Roxas held on as best as he could, glancing down to see Luxord remove his hood, a look on his face that all too well said he was relishing the display. Roxas gritted his teeth. Xion would never have stood by and left him to deal with a heartless on his own. Just the thought made a red hot sensation rush through Roxas. Growling, he pulled his Keyblade from the creature and flipped with ease onto its back, hacking with furious speed at it.

Every time it swerved and jerked through the air, Roxas was able to easily steady himself and continue his assault, not only as if he had done it before, but also as if it were simple for him. As his mind drifted to these thoughts, he lost focus, the heartless bucking him from its back, sending Roxas falling through the air. Watching his opponent as he fell, Roxas' eyes widened as the mammoth chest it held opened and giant golden coins flew at blinding speed for Roxas. This also felt familiar. Narrowing his eyes, Roxas began to knock away the speeding gold as he fell to the ground, landing just as easily as Luxord did. The two organization members readied themselves for the creature to attack, but instead, it roared at them and turned away, flying into the distance.

"That was quite an unexpected play." Luxord said as he raised his hood once more. "That heartless will no doubt have a glorious bounty."

Roxas' Keyblade disappeared, watching the now tiny silhouette still in escape.

"I'm impressed, Roxas." Luxord said. "I didn't think your opening gambit would roll over so well. It would seem chance was on our side today."

Roxas looked at Luxord. "But… but our target got away." he said, Luxord looking over the courtyard.

"Roxas, there's more to a game than a single hand." he said. "We came for reconnaissance, and yet we were lucky enough to find a grand heartless just waiting for us here, and we now know that these people don't mind strangers, right?"

Roxas thought on this. Nobody did seem to mind him or Luxord.

"Our reconnaissance was a success, Roxas. The superior will be pleased with our findings, but for now, it's time for us to call game."

Opening a portal, Luxord calmly left the world, Roxas still thinking. Why did the battle seem so familiar? He had never fought such a large flying enemy before, had he? Just then, Roxas noticed the duck still clinging to his cloak, shaking violently. Reaching around and holding it before him, Roxas looked into its eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked. The duck merely looked back at him.

"Quack?" it responded.

Roxas wondered if it could understand him. After that day, he wouldn't be surprised by anything this world had to offer. He carefully let the duck down, just noticing it was wearing a gleaming red pendent. Maybe it was that girl who stepped on him before (although he didn't even get a look at her).

"Are you going to be okay, now?" Roxas asked, starting for the portal.

At this, the duck nodded and waddled off toward the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Roxas smiled. It felt good to see the tiny duck was all better now. As Roxas stepped through the portal, he didn't notice the young man from earlier that day watching him. As the youth turned to see the duck return to her human form, he huffed, gripping a blade slung around his waist.

"I don't like these strangers…" Fakir said as he tread off.

* * *

><p><strong>note from the author: <strong>Yet another chapter that ShaD.23 did most of.


	12. Lucky Planet

Roxas made another quick trip to the lab to check on Xion and saw that she was still asleep. He remembered Saix telling him that he had been asleep for twenty four days. He wondered if that was how long Xion would be asleep. Disappointed, he put the lab behind him and entered the briefing room to find Saix and Demyx waiting for him. Demyx was a bit taller than Roxas with dirty blond hair and green eyes. He was going to be accompanying Roxas to a recently discovered world. Saix briefed them on their mission; the Heartless population on this world (which was just below average) had suddenly vanished and their mission was to find out what might be responsible. Naturally, Roxas was to eliminate any Heartless he happened to encounter while they were there.

"Roxas, you are in charge."

"You gotta be kidding." Demyx groaned.

"Get moving." Saix rasped threateningly and Demyx gulped as he followed Roxas into the portal.

Roxas emerged on the top of a tall building which gave him an impressive view of the city. It was bigger and busier than Twilight Town but brighter, cleaner, and newer looking than Rome. Roxas took a minute to examine some of the people and saw that almost all of them had very youthful and relatively attractive faces (even some of the much older ones.) and most of the youths were quite petite and had many different hair colors. Roxas leapt from building to building watching the people.

* * *

><p>Konata was so happy she was close to tears as she walked out of the video store with the complete Haruhi Suzumiya collection. She was planning on cosplaying as Haruhi at the next convention, she tried to convince Miyuki to join her, and wear a bunny girl suit, but Miyuki respectfully refused. Konata only just made it to the curb when a series of quakes made her fall over, an earthquake? She looked up and saw a giant plant-like monster stomping down the street toward her. The monster walked on four thorny tendrils and dragged a large black coffin which seemed to be attached to its underside. Konata rolled away to avoid being trampled on but when she got to her feet, she noticed that her DVD had been crushed.<p>

"Damn youuu!" she shrieked, and she ripped a sign out of the sidewalk and charged toward the monster, despite the protests from Miyuki and Kagami. She leapt high into the air, swung the sign and it sliced into the monster's head. It wobbled for a bit and then collapsed to the ground.

"I am Konata," she shrieked "destroyer of EVIL!"

But the monster slowly began to rise. Kagami grabbed Konata's arm and the two of them began to run.

"Let me go!" she demanded. "I can take him!"

* * *

><p>Roxas landed in the area where the Heartless that he had silently dubbed the <em>Leechgrave <em>had surfaced. It had a street sign lodged in its head and was lashing aggressively at every living thing in sight.

"Demyx, trap it." Roxas coolly instructed.

"Trap it? Um…okay."

Demyx began strumming his sitar which produced several bursts of water under the Leechgrave. The street beneath it crumbled and it started to fall in. He then sent orbs of water hurtling into its head, soaking it so Roxas could strike it with thunder magic. Without warning, a clawed black tentacle burst up from the street, grabbed Demyx, and pulled him under. Moments later, the beast spat him out through an orifice on the top of its head and he landed on the street, covered in slime.

"Ugh, it's gonna take days to get this outta my hair." he moaned.

Roxas continued to discharge bolt after bolt into the beast, when his Keyblade began to glow and the phrase _Thunder Raid _came into his mind.

"Th..thunder…" he hesitated, the phrase was not familiar to him yet it lingered in his mind and he felt an urge to speak it aloud.

THUNDER RAID!" he cried.

He flung the Keyblade and it went spinning through the air until it lodged itself between the Leechgrave's eyes. Its flesh lit up and every orifice began sparking, finally it burst into a hail of green goo and a heart appeared. The heart rose into the sky and Roxas opened a portal.

"Come on, Demyx." he muttered.

Demyx groaned and dragged himself behind Roxas.

* * *

><p>Axel spent hours searching every room of Castle Oblivion that he had not yet been to when finally he found what he was searching for, Vexen's data pad. He turned it on, tried a few passwords off the top of his head, and managed to log in. He scrolled down to the last two entries, which were titled, <em>The Truth About Namine <em>and _Project No. i. _The Namine entry told him nothing that he hadn't figured out himself. The next entry proved far more interesting, though a little unsettling.

_No. i, my finest Replica, has proven an even greater success than anticipated. I intend to take the other vessel - judged unfit for number status - to Castle Oblivion, where I will subject it to further testing. One thing is clear: these Replicas can be classified as a special sort of Nobody._

"No. i…" Axel muttered

Was he talking about Xion? Could Xion be one of Vexen's replicas? If so, who was she a replica of and why did Axel sometimes see Namine when he looked at her face?


	13. Ouran Academy

_It's me again, ShaD.23, and I was asked to handle this chapter._

* * *

><p>Roxas stepped through the swirling black portal for the new world he had been assigned to scout out. The moment his surroundings came into focus, he saw that he was in the courtyard of a giant palace-like building. A large section with a brilliant pond stretched before him while a giant clock tower stood to his side. Looking it over, he saw what looked like a grand hall.<p>

_"I guess I could take a look over there to start."_ he thought to himself.

As he began to patrol the halls, he saw a few boys in powder blue dress jackets while a few girls dressed in flowing cream-colored dresses.

_"Is this another castle?"_ Roxas wondered as he continued on.

After stepping through another hallway, he decided he should inspect some of the rooms, starting with one with a large sign reading '3' above it. As soon as he stepped in, however, he turned to see a group of boys, all wearing blue jackets.

"Hello, and welcome to the Ouran High School Host Club." a tall blond boy said with a deep bow.

Roxas eyed the youth.

"I am Tamaki Suou, how may I be of service?"

Roxas didn't know what to say. Was this young man a servant of sorts? And just what exactly was a 'host club'?

"Wait, could you perhaps be that new student we've heard about?" a tall boy with glasses and black hair asked in a proper voice. Roxas strained his mind. What was a student?

"I'm... I'm not-"

"Hey, yeah, you're Haruhi Fujioka, aren't you?" a small blond boy cheered.

"I thought you weren't supposed to come to Ouran Academy until after spring break." a red haired boy said calmly.

"Yeah, are you touring the academy or something?" asked an identical red haired boy. Roxas stumbled back. What were these boys going on about?

"So then," Tamaki began as he rose and started for Roxas. "is Ouran Academy to your liking, poor man?"

Poor? Roxas didn't even know what the word meant.

"Well, now," the bespectacled boy began "I'm certain one of your audacity would fit nicely into our host club. What do you think, Tamaki?"

"That sounds magnificent, Kyoya. I agree." the pompous blond went on.

Coming over to Roxas, his lavender eyes shined. "Tell me, Fujioka. Would you care to join our Ouran Host Club?"

Roxas simply shook his head and turned to leave, several of the boys murmuring... stumbling as he knocked into a small post, knocking it over and causing the fragile (and oddly indiscernible) ornament resting on top of it to fall to the floor and shatter.

"Tamaki..."

"Yes, Kyoya... I see..."

Roxas looked at the shattered pieces on the floor. Things around the castle never shattered.

"That was a very valuable piece, you know, Mr. Fujioka," Tamaki went on as he strutted about the room.

"I would think it best if you were to work this debt off, poor man."

Roxas was becoming as irritated as he was becoming confused by this boy.

"Considering you were resourceful enough...to make your way into Ouran Academy..." the red haired twins said in succession.

"...you should be able to work off the tremendous debt you have now found yourself in." the bespectacled Kyoya said as he looked through a small notebook he pulled from his powder blue jacket.

Roxas' head was spinning. What were these boys going on about?

"Fujioka, you are now the host club's dog." he said dramatically.

"Okay, let's get something straight." Roxas began, having had enough. "I'm not this Fujioka person you think I am, second, I-"

"Not Haruhi Fujioka, you say?" Tamaki said as he turned back the the bunch of his fellow students. "How else could you have made your way into this school, might I ask. Surely, you would claim you're not who you are now that you are indebted to the Ouran Host Club."

"Hey, Tama-chan." the small blond boy began. "D'you think this Haru-chan isn't really Haru-chan like he says he isn't?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Hunni-sempai." Tamaki huffed, taking his seat. "I can see through his ploy easily. He is merely trying to avoid the repercussion of his mishap, naturally."

Hunni simply looked on at the increasingly bewildered Roxas. His gut feeling was that he was telling the truth. Even still, Tamaki seemed dead set on his inkling that this was their honor new student.

* * *

><p>The day was long and arduous, more so than most of the jobs Roxas had been sent on. This Tamaki character was an absolute nightmare, constantly spouting his narcissist jabber at random moments, completely ignoring Roxas every time he insisted he was not this Haruhi Fujioka person he thought he was and sending Roxas on ridiculous errands. Were it not for Roxas' reconnaissance mission, he would have left a long time ago. In his time there, however, he came to learn the rest of the boys' names, the twin brothers Hikaru and Kaoru and the Hunni's silent friend, Mori.<p>

"Please, Haruhi." Tamaki said with a jeer "You must learn to carry yourself more sophisticatedly."

Roxas grumbled under his breath.

"You must be more dignified if you are to be a part of the Ouran Academy's host club."

Before Roxas could respond, there came a shock through the halls of the school, the floors and the windows shook. The host club looked about as the shaking continued inconsistently, as if whatever caused it was not continuous.

"Tamaki!" Kyoya said quickly, scrolling through his cellphone. "It's another Heartless." The boys looked alarmed, Roxas included. So there WERE Heartless in this world.

"It seems that it brought friends, too." he went on. Hunni and Mori both stood as if they were ready to fight.

"Very good, Kyoya. Hunni, Mori." Tamaki said. "You two be safe." The two nodded and were off as the shaking continued, Hunni stopping as he came to Roxas.

"Haru-chan!" he said cryptically with a serious look on his face. "Take care of Usa-chan!" he said, handing Roxas a cushy, pink stuffed rabbit. Before Roxas could speak, Hunni was off once more.

"You get Heartless?" Roxas asked as the remaining boys gathered around Kyoya and his cellphone.

"Yes," Tamaki said quickly.

"They often raid the academy. Hunni and Mori are among the few who fend them off on the occasion that they appear." Kyoya said as he scrolled through his phone.

He must have been receiving messages from eyewitnesses, Roxas theorized.

"It would seem that they are more numerous this time." Kyoya said, his eyes flashing behind his glassed. "This could get messy."

Turning, Roxas strutted for the door as the rumbling continued.

"Where are you going, Fujioka?" Tamaki said sharply.

Roxas said nothing but instead summoned his Keyblade, the host club looking in awe. Before they could speak, he charged out of the music room and into the fray. Shadows and Soldiers scurried up and down the halls. Slicing his way through the black creatures, Roxas hurried for the loud crashing sound. It sounded like a giant Heartless. Coming into the main hall, as many students fled in the opposite direction, Roxas came face to face with an old foe: Darkside.

Charging, Roxas leaped for it's left arm and sliced hard for it. After very few cuts from the Keyblade, Darkside reared back and began to pulse, its blacked body turning a dark shade of violet as its tendrils grew longer and more twisted. Grimacing, Roxas jumped for it once again, only to be swatted down easily by the creature. Looking up, Roxas barely had time to roll out of the way as it brought its giant fists down for Roxas. Swallowing hard, Roxas jumped for it once more, this time throwing his Keyblade for it. As the blade made a light slice into the Heartless' arm, Roxas kicked off of a staircase to seize his weapon, only for the Heartless to grab Roxas and begin to squeeze. Feeling faint, Roxas summoned his Keyblade and cleaved the creature's hand off, dropping through the giant foyer as its hand turned to smoke.

As he looked up, he saw the mammoth Heartless regenerate its hand and begin to stomp for him. As he began to wonder what he could possibly do, he watched as waves of Shadows came from a giant swirling black pool the beast's fallen hand had melted into. Roxas climbed to his feet quickly and engaged his new enemies as the giant Heartless continued to sweep for him. Just as he felt he was about to be overwhelmed, Hunni and Mori charged into the grand hall and began to help him fend off the Heartless waves, Mori with a long bokken sword and Hunni with his bare hands.

"Fight the big one, Haru-chan!" Hunni called as he forced the Heartless away from Roxas, Mori helping him to double-team the threat.

Nodding to his allies, Roxas jumped high for the Heartless, this time managing to kick up from its arm and fly toward the grand ceiling. Narrowing his eyes, Roxas looked up at the glinting chandelier. There was always a simpler way of handling things, he thought to himself as he seized one of the golden rungs the many crystals hung from. Swinging himself upward just as the Heartless made a swipe for him, he kicked hard from another rung, shooting for the great chain that it hung from. With a forceful swing, Roxas tore the chain in two, the giant chandelier coming crashing down onto the giant Heartless. Seeing his chance, Roxas kicked down from the ceiling and jabbed his Keyblade into his target's face, the creature bursting seconds later. Mori and Hunni both stood in awe.

* * *

><p>"What? You're letting me go?"<p>

"Of course. I think you've proven yourself as a victim of false identification. It was a simple mistake anyone could have made."

"He did say he wasn't Haruhi a few times, boss."

"Shaddup!"

Tamaki cleared his throat over dramatically (like he did most things) and turned his back to Roxas as he paced.

"Besides," he went on "You were able to raise a fine amount of munny from all the Heartless you defeated. You're debt is as good as cleared."

Roxas smiled, mostly because he could finally leave this crazy world behind.

"So, I can just go, then? He asked. The host club members all nodded. Without another word, Roxas charged out the door.

"You could of course, stay on as an honorary Ouran Host Club member, my boy. What do you say, Keyblade wielder?"

"He's gone Tamaki, let it go."

Turning quickly, Tamaki stuttered in disbelief.

"What is this!" he shouted. "He saved the school! He could have brought in so many girls! He even had a Keyblade!"

"Even I'll admit, I always thought those were just in stories and paintings." Hikaru said.

"I never thought we'd see a real Keyblade." Kaoru added.

As Tamaki continued ranting over Roxas' departure, none of them noticed a girl approaching the steps of the Ouran Academy, coming for her enrollment procedure.

* * *

><p><strong>It's Darkruler again. ShaD is the biggest Ouran fan I know, so it seemed only fitting that he handle this chapter.<strong>


	14. Triple Mission

Roxas sat in the lab staring down at Xion. Twenty days had passed since she collapsed. He figured in four or five more days, they would all know for sure if she was ever going to wake up. A feeling of great discomfort lingered in him. What would they do with her if she didn't wake? Would they just get rid of her? That seemed most likely but it didn't seem right, in fact it seemed very wrong to him. He wanted to help her but Saix would not let him. Xion was important to Roxas and Axel but not to any of the others. Before he could dread any further, her eyes flew open and looked bluer and clearer than ever.

"Sh…Xion…" he gasped.

Xion stared at him for a few moments and slowly formed a smile.

"I saw your face…" she said softly. "…in my dreams."

He stared back at her, unable to think of a sensible response.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"T…twenty days."

Her face betrayed a hint of surprise.

"That long? Are you sure?"

"Yes…I counted the days."

"Why?"

"Because…" he said, his voice trembling, for some reason. "I…I wanted…"

"You wanted me to wake up?"

"Yes." he breathed.

Before either of them could say anything else, Axel walked in.

"Oh…Xion…" he said, scratching his head and furrowing his brow slightly. He then turned to Roxas and said "It's you and me today, Roxas."

Xion was quick to speak up.

"I want to go."

Roxas and Axel stared at her for a few moments and Roxas turned to Axel.

"Can she come, Axel?" Roxas asked.

"Um…sure." Axel replied, sounding strangely hesitant.

He led them to the briefing room where Saix was waiting. He glanced at Xion for only a moment and addressed Roxas.

"The Heartless you discovered in Gold Crown Town has been sighted in Twilight Town. Axel will help you find its weakness so you can eliminate it."

"Saix, I want to go with them." Xion said.

"You belong in the lab." Saix said, without looking at her.

"I'm not staying here." Xion said defiantly, "I'm going with Axel and Roxas."

"Whatever." Saix muttered, turning to his computer.

Axel opened a portal and the Keyblade wielders followed him to a back alley in Twilight Town. As soon as they emerged, they heard screams coming from the Tram Common. When they got there they saw citizens fleeing and three kids, all older looking than Roxas, engaging the Heartless. The first was a boy in a black cap and a sleeveless white coat, wielding a Gunblade, the second was a girl with white hair and a blue jacket who fought with a blue wheel-like weapon, and the third was a large, muscular, tan boy in an orange tank top, wielding a long wooden staff.

"Seifer, Look out!" the large boy shouted, but it was too late. The Heartless swung its wing and knocked the leaner boy across the street, as he flew he left a crimson trail, it was surprising that he wasn't cleaved in half. The large boy rushed over to his friend, picked him up and fled with the white-haired girl right behind him.

Roxas turned to Axel for instructions but he was gone.

"Where did Axel go?"

"Don't know." said Xion "He was behind us a second ago."

Without warning, a geyser of flame burst upward underneath the Heartless, scorching it and cracking the gem in its ribcage. Axel rose from a fiery portal in the ground and flung his chakrams into the gem, shattering it.

"Hit its skull!" he called to Roxas and Xion. Roxas tried to throw his Keyblade into the Heartless' skull but it only traveled a few feet for some reason. Xion however sent hers spinning toward it with surprising speed. Her Keyblade pierced the Heartless' skull and it thrashed for a bit before falling to pieces and turning into a heart.

"Nice…uh…job…Xion." said Axel. "Ahem, how about some ice cream?"

"Don't want any." said Xion.

He turned to Roxas, who shook his head.

"The clock tower, then?"

Roxas and Xion nodded and he took them to the tower.

"I feel weak today." Roxas said, "I don't know why."

"You're probably just having an off-day." Axel said, with a mouthful of pizza.

Xion was thinking about everything she had seen in her dreams, she had seen an island that she once discovered while on a mission. She had briefly seen the faces of Roxas, the white-haired boy who beat her, a girl who looked just like her (but with red hair), and a boy who looked much like Roxas, but with brown hair. Who were these people and why did they feel so important to her? Were they a part of her past? She wanted answers, but somehow she knew that no one in the organization would give them to her. She wondered if going back to that island would help her remember something. At that moment, she made a decision; she would go to that island tomorrow, but she would go secretly.

* * *

><p>Saix stood next to Xemnas on the highest tower in the castle. Kingdom Hearts could be seen high above them, it glowed an impressive golden glow. Absolutely no one was allowed up here without Xemnas' permission.<p>

"You wished to discuss something with me?" Xemnas asked.

"Yes." said Saix "Are you sure we need to keep Xion? It is less obedient now, much like Roxas. He believes that it is a real person, and now I guess it believes so too."

"I admit that Xion has deviated from its programming. It was not supposed to develop a mind of its own, or become the person who many of us see."

Saix did not see it as a person, perhaps because he never got a good look at Sora. He saw a faceless mannequin in a cloak, Xemnas saw it as a perfect copy of Sora, and Xigbar once said he saw it as someone he encountered in his past life.

"Keep it and Roxas separate for a while, and have some Creepers follow it wherever it goes." Xemnas instructed. "Its unexpected attributes prove that it may be more useful than we hypothesized."

Saix left through a portal and Xemnas continued to gaze up at Kingdom Hearts. It was growing with each heart that Roxas and Xion delivered. Some day it would be complete and its power would be his and his alone. He suspected that Saix was plotting to undermine him, possibly with Axel. He did not doubt that Xigbar had his own agenda as well, but it did not matter. Whatever schemes his pawns made would fail and he would be the only survivor in the end, he would make certain of that.


	15. Stolen Memories

Riku entered the mansion's dining hall where Namine and DiZ were waiting for him.

"You have something to tell me?" he asked.

"Yes." said Namine, sounding subtly distressed. "Some of Sora's memories are…missing."

"What happened to them?" Riku asked, as gently as he could.

"Well, I think they escaped through his Nobody but now they've found their way into someone or something else."

"Another Nobody?" asked DiZ.

"I don't know."

"Can you tell which of his memories are missing?" asked Riku.

"It looks like his memories of the Keyblade…"

Riku saw DiZ narrow his only visible eye slightly.

"…and his memories of Kairi are missing too. As long as this being has Sora's memories, we can't wake him up."

"I think I know who it is too." said Riku. "Remember that…girl I told you about?"

"The one who you thought looked like Kairi?"

"Yeah. I think she might be a replica, like the one that Vexen guy made of me. Maybe she has the missing memories."

"Well, if the replica's face was left blank and it has Sora's memories of Kairi inside it, that might explain why it looked like her and why it was using a Keyblade."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" DiZ asked impatiently. "Find this thing and destroy it."

"You should see if Kairi is alright first." Namine quickly suggested. As Riku left, DiZ strolled to the door to make sure he was gone and turned back to Namine.

"Namine, is there something you are not telling us?" He inquired.

He could see it in the Nobody's eyes, she was hiding something, but why?"

"Every so often…" Namine began feebly, "…another of Sora's memories goes missing."

* * *

><p>Xion received her briefing from Saix and left without a word. Her mission was to collect hearts in the rain forest of Nerima, but instead she planned to go straight to the island. She wandered through the corridors of darkness, trying to remember how to get to the island when she emerged in a place she did not recognize. It was a large gold and brown castle with green spires. The castle had a very peculiar design; some of the towers were sticking out horizontally from the base, giving the entire castle a rather twisted appearance. Without giving a thought to the consequences, Xion walked to the front doors, pushed them open and wandered inside.<p>

The interior was plain and white, much like the organization's castle. In fact, Xion was quickly getting the feeling that she had been in this castle before. She began selecting rooms at random and exploring them, only to find that each room was as empty as the last. She made her way to a stair case and ascended it. She had to keep searching until she found something that meant something to her, anything that would make remember her past. The staircase took her to a hall lined with rooms and began peeking inside each room until she found one that was not empty. It had a computer sitting on a desk. She turned it on and began opening files until she found the one that was most recently made. It was labeled _No. i (Xion). _She opened it and began reading slowly:

_After months of testing and programming, my most advanced replica, which has now been dubbed "Xion" is ready to operate. Though it lacks a specific template, it is composed of memory-absorbing technology, developed by the Superior and myself. This technology is the first of its kind and its purpose is to enable Xion absorb Sora's memories of the Keyblade. This will enable it to produce a copy of the Keyblade, and hopefully, convert the Heartless it slays to hearts. Unlike other replicas, its body is partly organic._

_Note: The possibility of it absorbing other memories from Sora cannot be ruled out._

Xion stared at the screen, trying to accept what she had just read. She was not a person and she was not a Nobody. She was something that Xemnas (and one other member) created. She was some kind of puppet, and the memories that she thought were hers really belonged to someone named Sora. She wondered if Sora was one of the boys she had seen in her sleep. She got up to leave but turned back to the computer. She stared at it for a few moments and summoned her Keyblade. An image rushed into her mind of someone hacking into a computer with the Keyblade, it must have been Sora. She felt compelled to act out what she saw and so she hurled her Keyblade into the computer, causing it to spark and burst.

As she left the room and went down the hall, she passed a mirror. She stared at her reflection, wandering why she looked the way she did when something unsettling happened. Her hair, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears all faded away, this must have been what she used to look like. Maybe this was why Saix didn't treat her like a member; he probably didn't see a face when he looked at her. Unable to think of any reason to stay, she opened a portal and made her way through the darkness until she finally found her way to the island.

It was midday when Xion arrived at the island and she spied someone on the beach, staring out at the sea. It was the girl who Xion resembled. She hid behind a wooden shack and watched the girl. If she was more-or-less a copy of Sora, why did she have this girl's face? She thought of going over to her and introducing herself, but what if this girl didn't see a face when she looked her? She would just frighten the girl away. She climbed on top of the shack and crossed a bridge to a much smaller elevated island only a few feet away from the shore and continued to watch the girl from there. She judged from the expression on the girl's face that she was troubled by something. She wondered if it had something to do with Sora, this girl was obviously connected to him somehow, otherwise why would Xion have her face when she had his memories? Some of his memories must have been of her. As she watched the girl get on a boat and start rowing back toward the mainland, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw the white-haired boy who she was supposed to eliminate.

"Are you…Sora?" she asked.

"I'm Riku, and I'm a friend of Sora's." he said. "What do I call you?"

"I'm Xion." she answered. "Riku…do you know who that girl is?" she asked pointing to the girl rowing away.

"That's Kairi." Riku answered. "She's someone very special to Sora."

"I know why I have her face now. I'm a puppet, something that Xemnas created. I was meant to absorb his memories of the Keyblade, so I could use it, but somehow…"

"You got his memories of Kairi too." Riku confirmed. "We had Sora go into a deep sleep until he got all his memories back."

"Are you mad at me for taking his memories?"

"Nah, it's not your fault. But, if you come with me, I can take you to him and maybe we can find a way to get his memories out of you and back into him."

Xion thought about it for a moment, it seemed like the right thing to do but if she gave up these memories, she might not be Xion anymore. She might go back to being blank.

"I'm not ready to give up these memories yet. They make me what I am and…my friend…Roxas…he needs me."

"Take some time to think about who needs you more."

"I'm not sure I can come up with the right answer."

"Well, the answer you come up with can't be what's best for you. It has to be what's best for your friend, for Sora, and for everyone."

"I'll try."

"Come with me, I need to show you something."

He opened a portal and she followed him to what she recognized as the woods of Twilight Town. He led her through the woods until they got to the old mansion.

"When you make up your mind, go to that mansion and ask for a girl called Namine."

"Okay." said Xion. "I'll be back but I need to find Roxas right now. He still needs me and I still need him."

Riku watched as Xion headed back through the woods and thought about the name that it…that **she **mentioned.

_Roxas…_

He pictured the letters of the name in his mind's eye. When the x was removed, the rest of the letters could be rearranged to form:

_soRa…_

Roxas was Sora's Nobody!

* * *

><p>Xion strode through the tram common and saw dozens of people leaving and shops closing. They were all going home, but Xion may not have had a home to go to. She was not sure if she could go back to the organization. If she did, Xemnas might do something to prevent her from leaving again or he might just have her destroyed. She had to find Roxas before she saw anyone else. Sooner or later she would have to tell him the truth about her.<p>

"Xion!"

She whirled around to see Roxas and Axel.

"We've been looking for you. Let's go back to the castle."

Xion could not go back, Saix would want to know why she wasn't doing her job and she wasn't sure she could fool him.

"I can't…I'm sorry." she said, pulling away from Roxas as he approached her.

"Why not?" Roxas asked, clearly confused.

"You have to come back, Xion." Axel said sternly. "It's an order."

When Axel approached her, it seemed that he was going to reach out for her but she summoned her Keyblade and pointed it at him. She didn't mean to, she just acted on some sort of impulse. Axel was subtly surprised but Roxas seemed completely taken aback. As soon as she took her eyes off Axel, he struck her and all went black.

* * *

><p>Roxas gasped as Axel struck Xion in the neck, knocking her out.<p>

"Axel! Why…did you do that?"

"Had to, didn't I?" Axel replied, looking solemn as he slung Xion over his shoulder. "C'mon, let's just get her back to the castle."

He threw open a portal and Roxas followed him back to the lounge where he set Xion on a couch. It wasn't long before Saix arrived and ordered a berserker to carry her to the dungeon, and for a barrier to be placed around the walls and bars so she wouldn't be able to escape by opening a portal.

"But why? She hasn't done anything wrong!" Roxas protested, he could neither control nor explain his outbursts.

"I had Creepers following it." rasped Saix "It was supposed to collect hearts in Nerima and then come right back, but instead it went into Castle Oblivion, then it went to some island and consorted with the spy, Riku. What if it told him some of our secrets?"

Roxas hung his head. This didn't seem fair, but Saix had a point.

"Xemnas will decide what to do with Xion, that should be enough for you."

Seeing no way of defending his friend any further, Roxas reluctantly left with Axel. He went back to his room and stared out the window. Things were becoming so much more complicated. He always believed he and Xion would collect enough hearts to complete Kingdom Hearts. He assumed that they would all have hearts of their own, so he, Xion, and Axel would always be together.

There were times in the past when it seemed that he might lose Xion, like when she had trouble summoning her Keyblade, but Roxas was able to solve that problem by lending her his. Then there was the time she went into a deep sleep, all Roxas had to do was wait and eventually she woke up. Now it seemed that Xion had broken the rules and might be punished for it. He remembered how uncomfortable he felt when told that he would be punished if he didn't do what the organization wanted and wished there was something he could do to protect Xion, but he could not think of anything.


	16. Waning Power

When Roxas entered the briefing room that morning, he was pleasantly surprised to find Xion there. Saix explained that Xemnas ordered for Xion to be put back to work and told them that they would be going to Traverse Town today. It was reported that only about ten people currently lived there so the risk of being seen was relatively low. He opened a portal and Roxas stepped through it. As he walked, he turned around to make sure that Xion was following him. She was hanging her head and he could read unmistakable reluctance on her face. He came to a stop and she did the same.

"What's wrong, Roxas?" she asked.

He responded with a question of his own.

"Why don't you want to be with us anymore?" he asked, sounding more demanding than he meant to.

"Roxas…I do but…"

"But what?"

"Forget it."

Xion strode right past Roxas toward the opening to Traverse Town. She couldn't be with him much longer but she didn't know how to make him understand. She emerged in front of Traverse Town's front doors and noticed a sign that read:

**Welcome**

**Traverse Town is a safe haven for all who have lost their worlds to the darkness. If you are in need of a home, you will find it here, if you are willing to share with others who have lost their homes.**

She pressed her hand against the door and stepped into the town's first district. She remembered Saix saying that the third district was the least populated so it made sense to begin their search in the there. The third district was a spacious plaza with a golden fountain in the corner.

As soon as they stepped into the center of the plaza, their target appeared. It was encased in a silver and blue sphere of steel armor with two pairs of spikes attached to the front and back. According to Saix, the member who discovered it dubbed it a "Spiked Crawler." But it did just the opposite of what its name suggested; it began spinning toward them with surprising speed and grace for something so large and heavy looking. Roxas discharged a few lightning bolts into it. It was hard to say whether or not the bolts injured it because it kept spinning faster. Roxas jumped in front of it and attempted to strike it but was badly bludgeoned. What was he thinking? He was usually much more focused than this.

As the crawler spun toward Xion, she jumped high into the air and hurled her Keyblade into an opening in its armor and it landed in its neck. The crawler sped out of control and crashed into a wall. Xion summoned her Keyblade back into her hand, sprinted forward, and cracked its shell open with one strike, exposing its soft body. She plunged her Keyblade into it and it turned back into a heart.

She saw Roxas still lying on the ground so she rushed over to him and lifted his head.

"Roxas, what's wrong?"

Roxas simply muttered, "Feel…weak."

She slung his arm over her shoulders and dragged him through a portal which led back to the castle's corridors. She dragged him into his room and heaved him onto his bed.

"Using the Keyblade…makes me tired." he muttered, before dosing off.

She had to find Axel and tell him what happened. He was the only one she could trust.

* * *

><p>Xigbar had just returned from a world that he had been investigating for three days. It was called Death City and it existed between the realms of light and darkness. The most interesting part of his investigation was the Death Weapon Meister Academy. It was a school founded by a being called the Grim Reaper or "Lord Death." The students were trained to slay witches and creatures called "kishins." He had just finished investigating some tunnels underneath the school. The tunnels led to some sort of shrine. As soon as he set foot in that shrine, he began having hallucinations. It was not enough to frighten or deter him, but he couldn't deny that there was something not right about that shrine. He imagined the hallucinations would be much worse for people with hearts.<p>

He was heading back to his quarters when he noticed Xion running down the hall. Where was it going in such a hurry? He decided to follow it through a series of portals and saw it running down the skyway to meet Axel.

"Axel!" it said, "Something is wrong with Roxas."

"Whaddya mean?"

"He says using the Keyblade makes him tired and weak."

"You mean he runs out of energy?"

"Yes, and I seem to be able to fight the way he does."

Axel took a few moments to contemplate what it was telling him and replied, "Well if Roxas is getting weaker and you're getting stronger, then I guess you must be taking more from him than you should be."

"You…you know what I am…don't you Axel?" Xion asked. Axel stood, impassive for a moment before nodding.

"What do I need to do?"

"I'm not gonna decide for you. You're no puppet in my book."

So Xion was absorbing Roxas' strength. This could slow down the organization's plans, some kind of action needed to be taken, so he asked Xemnas and Saix to meet him in the round room and told them what was happening.

"I see," said Xemnas "Both are connected to Sora, but we only need one of them now."

"How do we decide which one to keep?" asked Saix

"Pit them against each other." Xemnas suggested. "Xion may destroy Roxas and take the rest his power, or Roxas may destroy Xion and take it all back. I'll leave it to the two of you."

Having made his wishes clear, Xemnas left.

"Getting Roxas to fight that thing will not be easy." Saix stated. "We need to deceive them somehow."

A grin spread across Xigbar's face.

"I know the perfect place to send them." he said, having not felt such a malicious rush in ten years…


	17. The Setup

Roxas awoke to the sound of a loud rap at his door and Saix entered.

"A powerful Heartless just surfaced in a world called Death City. It must be dealt with at once."

He held up his data pad and showed Roxas an image of a human-like black Heartless with horns on its head. It was labeled "Orcus." Roxas was about to tell Saix about what happened to him yesterday, but quickly decided to stay silent. Risking his life, fighting a powerful Heartless was preferable to being turned into a Dusk.

"Your target will be underneath the largest building in the city, a Dusk has been sent to show you the way. Rendezvous with it."

He hurried through the portal Saix opened for him without a word. When he emerged he was in a city built much like Forland. It was very compact, seemed to be built on a mountain, and there was a castle at the top (which was where he had to go). The architecture was similar to Rome. As he approached the center of the city, his first Heartless appeared. There were three of them, they had white skull-like heads, no legs, only tails, and their right eyes dangled out of the sockets by chains.

They floated toward him and tried to grab him with their large clawed hands, but he (with great effort) managed to roll under them and behead two of them. The third one's head dangled a bit but was still not detached, it lunged forward and plunged its claws into his chest. He fell to the ground and grunted. He stabbed it a few times and it faded from existence, producing another heart. He was stronger than he was yesterday, but he still wasn't as strong as he should have been.

He looked up and saw four round black Heartless floating across some rooftops, as he examined them, the name _Darkball _popped into his mind. Two of them were attacking a girl with pigtails and a black cloak, who defended herself with a scythe, while the other two went after a boy with spiky blue hair who fought with a short sword.

"You're no match for the speed and power of Black Star!" the boy jeered, as he slashed at his Darkballs.

"Don't touch it!" the girl cried, sounding quite alarmed.

As soon as the boy called Black Star stabbed one of the Darkballs, it burst into a shower of purple flames which sent him flying off the roof. The girl quickly leapt to another rooftop as the three remaining Darkballs zoomed toward her. The blade of her scythe lit up blue and she swung it, releasing a wave of energy that vaporized the Darkballs. She then dropped down to the street to attend to her companion, he was being held by a girl with black hair, Roxas hadn't noticed this girl until now.

"You alright?" the pigtailed girl asked.

"Of course!" the blue-haired boy snickered. "One little explosion's no problem for Black Star!"

As the three friends left, Roxas began darting through alleys until he finally reached the castle. It was by far the strangest castle he had ever seen. It was mostly grey and white with bright red spires. Two giant candles protruded from the front and two more from the back. Three enormous white sculptures vaguely resembling skulls were attached to the front. Roxas began circling the castle and found a lone Dusk waiting for him. It pointed to a portal in the ground, just large enough for him to fit through so he dropped down and landed in a dim stone corridor.

With only a small flame at the tip of his Keyblade to light his way, he made a long trek down the corridor until he reached a large chamber filled with red metal beams. In the center was some sort of sack with three eye-shaped markings on it. It was chained to a few of the beams. As he approached the sack his vision became somewhat blurry. He happened to look down at his hand and for a split second, it looked like it was missing, but when he blinked, it was whole again. He must have been hallucinating. As he made his way around the sack, he saw the Orcus step out of the darkness to confront him, another hallucination? No, it swung at him with a sword and he blocked it just in time, it was real. It kept swinging and each time he parried a blow from it, his arms shook and ached. It continued to hammer away at him until his Keyblade was knocked from his hand. He dove away to avoid a forceful thrust from it, grabbed his Keyblade, rushed toward it, and slashed. It blocked his blade and shoved him back. Before either of them could strike again, there was a burst of flame. When it cleared, Axel was standing between Roxas and his target, blocking the Keyblade with one of his chakrams. Roxas was even more surprised to see Xion standing were the Orcus was a moment ago, Axel was blocking her Keyblade with his other chakram.

"The Heartless …" said Xion. She seemed just as confused as Roxas.

"This mission was a setup." Axel explained. "It was arranged so the two of you would fight each other."

"I was fighting Xion?" Roxas asked, still unable to believe it.

"There's something about this place that messes with people's heads." said Axel. "That's why you saw each other as Heartless. Let's get outta here."

Axel took them to the clock tower and gave them each an ice cream bar.

"Ain't that a sight?" he asked, indicating the crimson sunset. "Wish this could last forever."

"We could run away." Roxas proposed. "We could all run away and be together forever."

"We don't have any place to run to." said Xion.

"There's plenty of places we could run to." Axel corrected her. "But sooner or later the organization would find us. Besides, if we don't complete Kingdom Hearts, we'll just disappear anyway."

Xion was going to have to disappear no matter what. She needed to give Sora's memories back, he probably deserved them more than she did, but she wasn't ready just yet, she wanted just a little more time with her friends.

* * *

><p>Axel was heading up the skyway to his quarters when Saix stepped out from a pillar.<p>

_Oh boy…here it comes. _He thought.

"You interfered." rasped Saix.

"Don't know what you mean." Axel lied through his teeth.

"We don't need both of them. We only need one, and pretending won't change it." said Saix.

"You really think it's better that way?" Axel asked.

"Of course it would be better that way." Saix declared. "Think of all the **fixing** we'd have to do if we kept them both. It's counterproductive."

Axel hung his head slightly, unable to argue with the logic behind this statement.

"What means more to you, some make-believe friendship or a real one? Think about that, Lea."

What was this? Saix was addressing Axel by the name he had in his past life. Did he think that name still meant something to him? Not even Axel was sure anymore.


	18. Dealings with Devils

It was a peaceful day at Tokyo-3 with no foreseeable threat, something that didn't happen often. The three selected children of the mysterious organization, NERV were enjoying a rare picnic lunch with two of their superiors, Misato Katsuragi and Ryoji Kaji, chatting lazily of their daily lives (although Misato was oddly not talkative today); each of them avoided talk of the recent surge of Heartless. While both NERV and its parent organization, Seele, showed interest in the Heartless, neither had taken much action toward them. Their first meeting with the Heartless wasn't long ago.

Gendo Ikari, the cold and calculating commander of NERV, watched in silence from behind a large console as security feed recorded the five enjoying themselves. As usual, he didn't pay much mind to their chatter. The only two he cared about were Rei Ayanami, the first of the three child pilots, and Ryoji, whom he did not trust. While the three others clearly tried not to think of the Heartless (not even Gendo could tell what Rei was thinking), Ryoji was clearly biting his tongue. Gendo was certain he knew something. At this, Gendo rose, strolled over to his desk, retrieved a bottle of spiced liquor and poured himself a small glass. As he sipped it, he brushed his thoughts of Ryoji from his mind. It wasn't as if NERV didn't possess any knowledge of the Heartless… or their counterparts, the Nobodies.

* * *

><p>Shinji chased Pen-Pen, Misato's pet penguin, around the garden for his stolen bento as the others ignored the two of them.<p>

"Well, I'm full. Thank you for the meal, Asuka." said Misato

"If you don't mind, Misato," Ryoji began, inching closer. "Might I be able to have what's left of the _delicious_ lunch Asuka prepared you?" he said, giving the blushing Asuka a wink.

"Piss off, perv!" she said giving him a shove as she hastily went back to her bento.

Rei still complacently watched the other three as Shinji now wrestled with Pen-Pen all over the grounds for his bento. She felt herself wishing these times could last forever, but she knew they wouldn't, not as long as the Heartless and Angels still threatened them. Regardless, she ate quietly, not a trace of her deep thoughts on her face.

* * *

><p>Saix and Xigbar's plan to pit Roxas and Xion against each other was almost successful, but Axel interrupted the fight. Xemnas had a plan of his own, which no one would be able to foil. He had been in the castle that was now known as Hollow Bastion for two days constructing tree devices which were made of the same memory absorbing technology as Xion. These devices would ensure that Xion had the advantage over Roxas when they finally fought; he needed just one more ingredient for his plan. As he emerged from the corridors of darkness he entered the bottom level of NERV's base of operations. At the end of the chamber he saw it, staked to the wall was the abomination that would provide his final ingredient. Its name was Lilith and standing below it was one of Xemnas' more treacherous…acquaintances, Gendo Ikari, the ambitious NERV commander. He turned around and his features betrayed a subtle hint of surprise.<p>

"Xemnas…" he said softly. "It's been a while."

"I require another of the creature's cells." Xemnas rumbled softly.

Ikari stared at Xemnas for a few moments in contemplation and replied. "Of course, whatever you need. I owe my recent success to you, after all."

"Indeed you do."

"Another skin sample?"

"No, some muscle tissue."

Ikari raised himself to Lilith's torso on a miniscule platform, barely large enough for a single person to stand on, and sliced into an old wound in its side with a scalpel. He placed the strange sample he cut into a small cube to preserve it. Xemnas didn't take his eyes from him for an instant. Ikari lowered his platform, stepped off and handed the cube to Xemnas, who slipped it inside his cloak and strode toward the helpless creature.

"I have all I need now." he said mostly to himself.

"Xemnas?"

"The creature's usefulness has ended…" he said, conjuring a large orb of null-energy.

"What are you doing?" Ikari demanded.

Xemnas hurled the orb into the Lilith's chest and it slowly faded from existence.

"…and so has yours."

Before Ikari could make a move to defend himself, Xemnas rushed forward and thrust his hand into his chest. He pulled out Ikari's heart and infused it into himself to extend his own life for a few more years. Ikari staggered and fell to the floor.

"You…promised…" he gasped with his dying breath.

"I promised you nothing." Xemnas muttered as Ikari joined his creature in utter oblivion.

He threw open another portal and headed for Hollow Bastion to retrieve the devices. He needed to hurry and place them in case one or more of the other members decided to start looking for him.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>ShaD.23 took care of the first half of this chapter


	19. Xion's Escape

Once the devices were placed and secured, Xemnas returned to his castle. He had placed the first device inside a cliffside cave in Nerima. He'd placed the second one in the Accursed Dominion, in a chasm containing the Ruins of Count Magnus Lee's castle (which his own castle was hevily modeled after). He'd placed the third deep inside a mountainside temple in Dark Japan. He summoned Saix and Xigbar to the round room and told them what little they needed to know about his plan. He did not tell them where he placed the devices, but assured them that he gave the devices every possible manner of protection. He then instructed Xigbar to bring Xion to him. Once he had Xion, he intended to infuse it with cells from the sample of Lilith's tissue (which he kept within his cloak at all times).

* * *

><p>Xion almost dreaded waking up for she knew that this would have to be the day she left the organization. She needed to survive long enough to give Sora back his memories. As she looked down at the slab she was forced to sleep on, she saw something startling; her reflection had changed. She had a boy's face and spiky brown hair. This must have been the face of Sora, perhaps it was a sign that she needed to give his memories back now. She wasn't even going to be able to say goodbye to Roxas, she had to get out before anyone noticed this change in her. She was about to reach out to open a portal when…<p>

"Hey, follow me."

She turned around slowly and saw Xigbar standing in the doorway. He made no indication that he noticed any change in her appearance. She knew better than to try to attack Xigbar head on, she would have to wait for him to let his guard down. She obediently followed him down the corridors leading to Xemnas' tower. As she walked, she put her hood up and summoned her Keyblade. When they were halfway to Xemnas' tower, she would strike him.

"You've been a naughty little puppet, pulling your own strings." Xigbar sneered as he kept marching. "I guess Xemnas is gonna take care of that."

A somewhat hot sensation was rushing through Xion. If she had a heart, it might have been anger. This seemed like as good a time as any to attack. She threw herself forward and struck Xigbar hard on the back of the head. He grunted loudly and fell to his knees, she struck again, harder this time, and his face hit the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?"

It was Axel. Xion turned around and let let down her hood so he could see…Sora's face.

"What in the…?"

"This is why I have to go, Axel. Take care of Roxas!" Xion said quickly.

She tore open a portal and dashed inside before Axel could give a word of protest.

* * *

><p>Roxas did not find Saix in the briefing room or the lounge, so he decided to go looking for him. He made his way toward Xemnas' tower, one of the few parts of the castle he had never been to, thinking that Saix might be there. When he was halfway there, he found Xemnas with Xigbar and Axel.<p>

"What happened?" Xemnas asked, sounding somewhat irritated.

"Whaddya think?" Xigbar growled back. "Xion kicked my ass and took off."

Xemnas turned to Axel.

"Did you attempt to stop it, Axel?"

"I asked her what the hell she was doing but…she didn't really answer. She just ran into a portal." Axel answered.

"Both of you, report to the rotunda in twenty minutes." Xemnas instructed and then he turned to Roxas.

"Roxas, go back to your quarters and wait for Saix."

Roxas wanted to know more about what happened but saw no choice but to obey, he turned around and began walking. He glanced back and when he saw that Xemnas and Xigbar were gone, he rushed over to Axel.

"What happened, Axel?" he asked anxiously. "Why did Xion run away?"

Axel glanced away from Roxas and stood silent for a few moments.

"Roxas…" he finally said. "There's something you oughta know…Xion isn't…she's not what you think she is."

"What do you mean?"

"Xion is like…a reflection."

"I don't understand."

"She's not real Roxas." he said flatly. "She's a puppet that Xemnas and Vexen built… a creation."

"What are you talking about?" Roxas demanded. "Xion's not a puppet or a reflection, she's our friend!"

It sounded like nonsense to Roxas. Axel must have been talking nonsense, but it was so unlike him.

"Roxas, Xion is dangerous."

"How?"

"Have you got all your strength back?"

"No…I don't."

"It's because Xion is taking it, not intentionally."

"What do you mean? How is she getting my strength?"

"I'm not really sure… she just is… Listen, I gotta go." Axel said quickly as he turned.

"Wait!"

Axel ignored Roxas' demand, shrouded himself in darkness, and vanished.

Roxas had to find out the truth. Xion could not be a puppet, she seemed much too real. But he had to know why she was the way she was. With great effort, he opened a portal in the wall and followed it to the round room. He climbed over the platform in the center and crouched down. He was fairly certain that the others would be seated too high to notice him. It wasn't long before Xemnas appeared in his seat, followed by Saix, Xigbar, Xaldin, Luxord, Demyx, and finally Axel.

"Xion has escaped." Xemnas announced.

"Do we know where she is?" asked Xaldin

"It, not she." Xemnas corrected him. "Xion is merely a puppet, built by Vexen and myself."

"Xion is one of Vexen's replicas?" Xaldin inquired.

"Yes." said Xemnas. "It was built from a memory-absorbing material that he and I developed. A decade ago, this technology was considered the stuff of fantasy. It still has not been perfected. Its purpose was to absorb Sora's memories of the Keyblade; it did so and allowed Xion to produce a perfect duplicate of the Keyblade and its abilities. It could even convert the Heartless it slays into hearts, just like Sora and Roxas. Had it stopped there, Xion would have been a success, but it began taking more of Sora's memories and developed a false sense of identity."

As Roxas listened, he found that Xemnas' words made sense. He did not want to believe that Xion was a puppet but if Xemnas said that she was than it must have been true. He did not know who this "Sora" was and he did not care.

"I see it as a perfect copy of Sora," Xemnas continued "Xigbar, for some reason sees it as a boy he encountered in his past life, Saix simply sees a faceless puppet, while the rest of you see a girl named Kairi."

"What is to become of Xion?" asked Luxord, sounding nothing but curious.

"The time has come for Xion and Roxas to become one." said Xemnas "Once this happens, we will have the perfect weapon."

Become one? Did he mean that Roxas and Xion would be together again? No, that couldn't be right.

"Axel, since you made no effort to prevent Xion from escaping, I charge you with tracking it down and bringing it back. I can repair any scratches or burns but make sure it still functions on arrival. The rest of you will await your assignments for today. Dismissed."

One by one, the other members warped away, leaving only Axel and Roxas in the room. Roxas ran out from his hiding place to meet him.

"Axel, I don't think Xion is safe here anymore." he said.

Axel did not respond, he got up and opened a portal.

"Are you going to do as Xemnas says?"

"Have to." Axel replied, "Otherwise, **I'm** not safe here anymore."

With that, he entered his portal and closed it behind him.

Roxas went straight back to his room and stared outside, into the darkness as he always did. Xion was a puppet; did that mean that their friendship wasn't real? He didn't have a heart so he didn't know what a real friendship was like. Maybe Axel wasn't a real friend either, but regardless, Roxas was certain of only one thing now; he did not want to work for the organization anymore. He just wanted to know where he came from (if anywhere) and who he once was (if anyone). There were more worlds out there than he could have imagined, one of them must have had the answers he wanted on it.


	20. Friendship in Flames

Xion wasted no time getting to the old mansion. She went to the front doors and began banging on them until a girl opened them. She looked exactly like Kairi, but with blond hair and much softer looking skin.

"Namine?"

The girl smiled and nodded.

"I'm Xion."

"Riku told me you'd be coming." said Namine. "Please follow me."

Xion followed Namine up a flight of stairs and into a white room. The walls were lined with many different drawings. Namine sat at one end of the table and asked Xion to sit at the other end.

"Are you ready to give back Sora's memories, Xion?" Namine asked gently.

"Yes." said Xion. "But before I do, I would like you to do something."

"What would that be?"

"I would like you to take care of Roxas. Do you think you can do that?"

"Certainly." Namine replied with a pleasant smile. "That is what I intended to do."

"When I give back Sora's memories…I won't be me anymore…will I?"

Namine's face became solemn and she shook her head.

"Will anyone remember me?"

"I don't think so." Namine answered.

"Fine…that's fine." Xion said in grim acceptance. "I have another question, Namine. Do you know who Kairi is?"

"Yes, I do."

"Is there a reason that you look so much like her?"

"I'm a part of her." Namine replied. "I'm Kairi's Nobody, and Roxas is Sora's Nobody."

"I see…" said Xion. "Then you **should** be the one to take care of Roxas when I'm…gone."

"I will." said Namine. "I promise you, I will."

The door opened and a man stepped in. He wore a red cloak over a simple black robe and his head was wrapped in red cloth with only a single amber eye exposed.

"Namine, be aware that one of the organization members is lurking outside." he said, his voice was a deep drone, the way he spoke was very sophisticated, even more so than Xemnas.

"Could you tell which one it was?" Namine asked.

"He had red hair."

"That's Axel." Namine and Xion said at once.

Xion quickly got up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going, Xion?" Namine asked, sounding very concerned.

"I have to say goodbye to Axel." Xion replied, and she hurried down the stairs.

Namine got up to go after Xion but DiZ held out his arm to stop her.

"Let it go, Namine." he ordered, in his usual deep moan. "If it gets destroyed, then the memories will have no place to go except back to Sora."

Namine hung her head. She wanted to be there for Xion, knowing how dangerous Axel could be, and not knowing for sure if DiZ was right, but she could not afford to go against his orders just yet. She went to the window and opened it just slightly. She saw Xion walk through the gates to confront Axel.

"Axel." she heard Xion say. "I came to say goodbye. I have decided to give Sora back his memories, and I'll be gone forever."

Axel stared back at her, looking almost genuinely angry.

"Do you understand, Axel?"

"Oh, I understand." Axel replied aggressively. "But I don't think it's very fair for Roxas."

"It's for the good of everyone." Xion said stoically.

"How do you know that?" Axel shot back "Everyone thinks they're right!"

"This **is **right."

"What's your DAMAGE?"

It was startling to see Axel this passionate…about **anything. **A burst of flame rose around him as he shouted. Xion summoned her Keyblade and Axel summoned his weapons.

"You both…think you can do whatever you want." It was unreal how believable the contempt in his voice was. "Well then… GO AHEAD! JUST KEEP RUNNING!" Axel roared, perhaps not even realizing what he was saying. The two drew back, ready for action, Axel gritting his teeth and glaring as Xion gave him a mixed look of sorrow and contempt. "I'll bring you back every time!" he hissed.

"Don't make me fight, Axel…please."

Axel ignored her plea and sunk into the ground. A red glow formed under Xion's feet and she leapt forward to avoid a geyser of flame, the grass and soil around them becoming charred and black. Axel burst up from the ground and sprinted toward Xion, spinning his weapons like buzz saws as he swung them. Xion blocked each strike, but his weapons were generating considerable heat. Axel forced Xion back into the woods and the trees around them caught alight, then they disappeared from view.


	21. Roxas Resigns

As soon as Roxas woke up, he headed for the lounge. As he began falling asleep last night, a most disturbing thought occurred to him: Perhaps the reason he didn't remember his past was because he didn't have one. Maybe he was a puppet just like Xion. There was only one person that he felt safe asking, Axel. When he got to the lounge, he saw Axel slumped on the couch.

"Hey, Roxas." he said lazily.

"Axel, did you find Xion?"

"Yep." Axel replied. "She put up one hell of a fight, though."

"Did you know the truth about her the whole time?"

"Nah, not the whole time?"

"When did you find out?"

"Oh, you know, somewhere along the way."

Roxas prepared himself to ask the question that was troubling him the most. He happened to glance down at his hands and saw that his fists were clenched for some reason.

"Am I like her, a puppet? Did they make me too?"

"No, you're not a puppet." Axel replied.

"Then where did I come from? Who was I?"

"I dunno."

"You're lying."

Axel finally got up and faced Roxas.

"You must know something about me, you must have **heard **something."

Axel sighed.

"Roxas, there's some things you're…**probably** better off not knowing. Heh, there's probably stuff even I'm better off not knowing." Axel said with a laugh Roxas knew was fake.

"I have a right to know who I am!" he said, much louder than he meant to.

"You just gotta trust me, man."

Roxas stared into Axel's eyes, trying to trust him, but somehow unable.

"I can't trust you." he muttered, turning his back to Axel. "We can't be friends anymore."

"Hey, c'mon."

"Someone out there knows who I am and where I belong. That will be the one I trust." Roxas said, as he began walking.

"Where you going?" Axel asked.

Roxas paused.

"I'm leaving. I'm not coming back."

"You can't walk out on the organization!" Axel said, sounding aggressive now. "If you go out there, where people can learn our secrets from you, one of us will find you and kill you!"

"No one will find me." Roxas droned. "No one will miss me."

Axel watched as Roxas walked down the hall, knowing full well that he had no intention of coming back.

"That's not true…" he muttered to himself. "I will."

If he had a heart, it would have hurt seeing his friend walking away like that. He almost regretted that it didn't hurt…almost.

* * *

><p>Saix sat at his computer reviewing the blueprints for the Dreadnaught, a battle station that the organization's forces were working tirelessly on. Xemnas believed that it was only a matter of time before other beings and groups of beings learned about the Nobodies and decided to start looking for their world, so they had built a fleet to combat anyone who came too close to their world. But that was not enough; Xemnas wanted a powerful battle station. Saix suspected that he planned to use it to conquer other worlds when he became complete.<p>

_Something along those lines, I bet. _

His thoughts were interrupted by a small Dusk that came slithering into his quarters.

"What is it?" he muttered.

_Roxas…leave…castle _The Dusk whispered.

Saix pushed himself over to some monitors and turned them on. He scanned them until he found Roxas exiting the lift and walking across the arena. A Samurai Nobody approached him, but he stabbed it with his Keyblade and kept walking.

_Ungrateful brat. _Saix thought.

Saix opened a portal, which would take him to the front platform. He would not allow Roxas to leave the castle alive.

* * *

><p>Roxas finally made it outside the castle. He had tried opening a portal but for some reason he couldn't concentrate, so he was going to have to escape on foot. As he made his way down the catwalk, he saw Saix waiting for him on the platform, holding his mammoth claymore. Roxas came to a halt and drew his Keyblade. For a few moments, neither of them said a word. Their intentions were already perfectly clear. Saix would not allow Roxas to leave the castle alive and Roxas would not allow Saix to stop him.<p>

"I have nothing to say to you." Roxas said coldly, Saix not moving. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Roxas." Saix said icily. "Hearts die. Nobodies are forgotten."

Saix dashed forward and started sweeping his claymore from left to right, it was much larger and heavier than the Keyblade so Roxas leapt and rolled away from it, rather than trying to parry it. He had only seen Saix in combat once. Next to Xaldin, he was the organization's most skilled fighter. He did not appear to have any powers but he was as strong as Lexaeus and almost as quick as Axel. When Saix got within striking distance, Roxas was forced to block all of his attacks. Saix struck with such force that Roxas expected the bones in his arms to splinter at any second. He tried to jump over Saix but Saix swatted him him in midair and sent him flying off the platform and onto another one below it. Saix quickly jumped down after him. Roxas leapt back to avoid being smashed by the claymore but the force of the blow created a small tremor which made him lose his balance for a moment. Saix charged again and Roxas hurled the Keyblade at him, but he swatted it away with ease. He closed in to strike Roxas again but Roxas grabbed onto his claymore. Saix swung it in an arc and hurled Roxas off, though he saved himself by grabbing a pipe that connected the lower platform to the base of the castle.

"You couldn't beat me on your **best **day!" Saix spat as he approached the ledge.

He lifted his claymore high and brought it down to smash Roxas, but Roxas released the pipe and grabbed the one next to it with his other hand. Then, with his free hand he summoned his Keyblade and hurled it into Saix's stomach. Saix dropped his claymore and groaned, trying to pull the Keyblade out of him. Roxas grabbed his ankle and pulled him off the ledge. Saix tried to grab Roxas but Roxas swung his legs back and watched Saix silently plummet into the glowing abyss below.

Roxas climbed back onto the lower platform and walked to the other end. There were no bridges for him to walk across and he still could not open a portal. It looked like the only way for him to get across the abyss was to jump. He really did not believe that he could do it but he saw no other way. He went to the back end of the platform ran to the front and made the jump. He soared across the abyss and toward the edge of the dark city. It looked as though he would not make it but he summoned his Keyblade at the last moment and dug it into the canyon wall.

He reached up with one hand, grabbed a hold of the edge, and heaved himself up. Making that jump was physically one of the hardest things he had ever done. It would have been easier if he had his full strength. He was tired, but he could not rest, he could not stop until he was far enough away from the castle, he had to get moving before Saix got out of the Abyss. He got to his feet and began trekking through the dark city. The only sources of light here were some neon signs and some very dim street lamps. It was also dead silent. He kept walking until he got to an alley with a swirling mass of darkness in it. This appeared to be the only way out so, he plunged himself into the darkness, without the faintest idea where he would end up.

* * *

><p>Xemnas spent hours working on Xion in his private lab. It had proven to be much more taxing without Vexen to help him, though he had one of his Sorcerers helping him with his instruments. All of the programming was finished, but the most difficult part was infusing Lilith's cells into Xion's own tissue, which he had to do on his own. Finally, his work was complete. Xion slowly opened its eyes and rose.<p>

"Your mission is to defeat Roxas, absorb him into your being, and become the perfect weapon. Now, go." he instructed.

Xion got off the slab and entered the portal he opened for it, without a word.

Wherever Roxas was, Xion would find him.


	22. Released

Roxas wandered the streets of Twilight Town aimlessly the whole day through. Had he been trying to grasp what he'd just done? Or was he thinking of Axel and Xion? Maybe the Keyblade and all the trouble it seemed to cause? If Roxas was thinking about any of this, it wasn't showing on his face. Roxas looked up to the clock tower at the train station. It was the only place he really felt good…

"Dammit…" Roxas muttered to himself (a word he learned from Axel) as he sat watching the red sun in the distance. "Where did I think I could go to… some runaway…" he sighed, burying his face in his arms. Just then, however, he heard the familiar clicking of boots growing behind him. He turned and saw a short cloaked figure.

"Xion!" he gasped in surprise. Before he could say anything else, she offered him an ice cream bar which he promptly took and thanked her for. As she climbed over the ledge to sit with him, her pointy boots hanging completely still by his, they ate their ice cream in absolute silence. Even after they finished, they both remained silent, sitting and watching the sunset for an unknown length of time. Finally, after almost an hour of sitting, Xion bowed her head.

"Roxas." she said slowly, her voice devoid of feeling. "I am out of time."

Wondering what she was talking about, Roxas gasped as she slid her hood back, standing in the sunset.

"Look at my face, Roxas." she droned. "If you see another face… If you see a boy's face… then that means that my mission is almost complete." she said in a proper tone, sounding remarkably like Xemnas.

"Can you not see, Roxas?" she continued in her monotone. "This is Sora… but this is not enough… all that you have given me is not enough. I need more if I am to be complete." she said, lifting her hood once more, walking off the ledge, her lightweight boots floating in the air as if she were standing on an invisible platform.

"Now Roxas… all I need is you… this truly is what I was created for." she said, turning back to him quickly as black wisps of what looked like smoke began to twist around her.

Before Roxas knew what was happening, his vision became engulfed in blackness. When it cleared, he found himself in some sort of cave and standing before him was a figure covered in a cream, red, and gold armored shell. It dashed forward and started attacking him with a twisted red and gold Keyblade.

"Roxas…fight." it said. Its voice was so scratchy that it didn't sound human.

Stumbling back as it rushed for him, he was barely able to block it as it swung its misshapen Keyblade for him. Almost immediately, he fell to his knees trying to force it back. It was almost as strong as Saix!

"Stop holding back!" it roared in its chilling voice.

Swallowing hard, Roxas pushed back with all his might, charging for it and bringing his Keyblade crashing down at its head. While barely scraping it when it forced him off, Roxas instead twisted his whole body around and flung his Keyblade for it, Xion was so surprised it couldn't react in time. As it crashed back several feet from the impact, it quickly leapt up, not reaching to retrieve its weapon.

"Good, Roxas." it growled. "But that was…first round." As it raised its hand into the air, blackness shrouded them once more.

When the smoke cleared, they found themselves in what looked like the ruins of some kind of castle or fortress, bathed in moon light. Roxas glared as Xion spread gigantic, spiny wings that looked very similar to the Keyblade it was using when it fought him last. The Keyblade it drew, however, was a giant, purple and black, twisted claw-like object that made Roxas' skin crawl (perhaps an effect of the weapon itself). Roxas knew he wasn't going to be as lucky this time. He had to take the offensive.

He ran for Xion bust was instantly knocked back by a swooping maneuver it made for him. Climbing to his feet, he looked up just in time to see it fire a volley of glowing, twisting bolts that surged for him. He rushed off and they followed him everywhere as Xion glided silently for him like a bird of prey. It wasn't going to back down. Roxas suddenly got another idea, but it was reckless.

He turned and he ran toward Xion, the shimmering bolts still trailing him. As he got closer, Xion stopped gliding and swiped it's Keyblade for him, clearly having anticipated his plan. With its twisted weapon, Xion slung Roxas into the beams of energy, causing them to engulf him in an explosion of light and color and searing his body.

Xion charged for Roxas who strained as he tried to climb back up, but Xion was too fast. Stomping hard on his arm, Xion began to bring its Keyblade down on Roxas repeatedly, who was amazed he was able to survive its furious onslaught. Xion kicked Roxas hard, flopping him over and raised its Keyblade for one final jab, but Roxas still had some fight left in him. He materialized his Keyblade and brought it up just in time to block, sparks dancing wildly from their locked Keyblades. Roxas then glared as he slowly managed to climb to his feet, never breaking the lock his Keyblade was in.

"This cannot be." he heard Xion growl. "I will not let it end like this. I need more!" it roared as the blackness swirled around them again.

Roxas now found himself in large, sacked room with a cracked but shining marble floor that reflected a swirling red sky above it. Long spikes also protruded from the floor. However, it was Xion that once again captured Roxas' attention. It was now somewhat larger; it's armor now more regal and shiny. It had a large golden shoulder plate connected to each of its four long, scimitar wielding arms.

He dove to the right as it spread its arms and came whirling toward him. He dashed through the spikes, glanced back and saw that each scimitar was glowing gold and burning through the spikes, he expected that they could burn through him just as easily. Xion propelled itself forward and he rolled under it as all four blades were plunged into the floor. As it struggled to pull the blades free, he dug his own blade into its back and began tearing through its armor. It let out a shrill electronic snarl and dug its claws into him, attempting to throw him off.

As Roxas was flung across the room, he had barely enough time to react as he sailed toward one of the giant spikes. Swinging his Keyblade for it, he twirled himself around it and slung himself back toward Xion, landing a powerful strike on it. Xion roared and swung for him, but he was already gone. Standing a good distance back from it, Roxas stood ready for more. Xion, clearly having been fed up with all this, rushed for Roxas, it's twisting, shredding blades swinging all about it.

Roxas swallowed hard and threw his Keyblade for it, remembering the time he and Xion challenged the giant Darkside Heartless. Almost exactly as Roxas began to remember this, Xion stumbled and slowed its running, not even swinging to deflect Roxas' Keyblade, which hit its mark dead center. Xion dropped its curved blades and fell to its knees.

Roxas, held out his hand, let the Keyblade reappear in it, and inched closer, not letting his guard down. Suddenly, the swirling blackness returned once more and everything around Roxas faded. For a moment, Roxas stood in a black void, seeing what looked like the Xion he knew from before standing far off. He wanted to be with her. He wanted their fight to stop. As he raced for her, the blackness faded instantly, Roxas standing in the air above the Twilight station plaza. He already knew Xion was there.

Narrowing his eyes and drawing his Keyblade, he turned quickly, starring down a now colossal armored Xion with two Keyblades and two strange tendrils protruding from its back. As if he already knew he could, Roxas shot off into the sky and flew for Xion, his cloak whipping about as he swooped for her, Keyblade ready. Roxas swung for Xion's face, but it was too fast, knocking him back instantly.

"This won't end how you want it to!" screeched Xion, although Roxas had a passing feeling that it wasn't Xion speaking to him.

Xion stomped toward him as he continued to glide about the plaza, never taking his eyes from Xion. It quickly reached for Roxas, its giant Keyblade still floating in the air where it released it. Jumping high, Xion flung Roxas down into the station roof, which oddly was not effected from the considerable impact. Shaking the pain off, Roxas began to scale the building tops as he searched for a blindside. No matter what, Xion continued to keep its watch on him.

"STOP HOLDING BACK!" it screeched as it began to send a volley of shining, silver lights for Roxas, each burst hitting him directly.

The pain was immense and lasting, Roxas felt fatigued and ached. Xion then snatched him up and began to squeeze him.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" it spat, now sounding more like Axel.

Roxas glared at the twisted being and summoned all his strength. He drew his Keyblade, which was now broad and black with a chain running along the shaft and a hand guard shaped like a pair of bat wings. The word _Oblivion_ echoed in his head. Roxas jumped free and instead floated to the ground, looking up at the enormous creation. It began to bring its massive Keyblades down for him, which he remarkably blocked and deflected with his own. It seemed the two were evenly matched as they both began to tire the other out with their almost unending string of attacks and parries. Finally, the two locked weapons as they had in their previous fights, neither of them wondering how Roxas was able to do such a thing with his own Keyblade when taking into consideration how much larger Xion and its Keyblades were.

Xion instead flung Roxas into the sky and shot for him while Roxas straightened himself out as best as he could and shot down toward Xion. The two swung, their blades struck each other, producing a spray of sparks. Immediately, Xion bucked to its knees as Roxas landed on a building edge for support. They both turned to match the other once more, shooting off again and striking the other again, this time with Roxas crashing into the roof of the station and Xion toppling over the ledge beside the station.

Roxas swallowed hard and climbed to his feet, swaying as he did, Xion slowly climbing back over the ledge. The moment the two matched gazes, Xion swung its Keyblades for Roxas, who blocked the two of them, falling to his knees as he tried to hold off the giant weapons with his black Keyblade. Roxas rolled to the side, jumped high into the air and swung his Keyblade down at Xion, a streak of black and purple flying straight for its center.

Instantly, its giant shell shattered and faded into silver sparks as Roxas still hung in the air. Just then, he felt himself become lightheaded and felt as if he were going to black out as he plummeted to the ground with a hard crash.

After what could have been minutes or hours, Roxas rose, still feeling lightheaded and saw someone (or something) lying in pieces on the ground. He dragged himself over to her and touched the familiar girl's shattered body.

"I…know…you…right?" he muttered.

The girl slowly opened her eyes; they were as blue and mysterious as an ocean.

"Did I…do this…to you?"

"No." the girl said weakly. "This was my choice…to disappear…forever. Better that…than to let Xemnas have me."

Roxas was becoming more and more certain that this girl meant something to him, but trying to remember made his head hurt.

"Roxas…" she said. "The hearts we collected…Kingdom Hearts…set them free."

"Kingdom Hearts…free the hearts…why?"

"You can't let Xemnas have Kingdom Hearts. It's too late for me to do anything…promise me, Roxas."

He continued to stare down at the girl, not understanding what she was asking of him.

"Say that you promise, Roxas."

"I…I…promise." Roxas muttered weakly, and the moment he said this, he remembered the girl.

"Good bye, Roxas." said Xion, sounding unusually peaceful. "You will never see me again, but I am glad that I met you, Axel too. You were my only… my only…"

"Xion!" the cry escaped from him before he could control it. "Let's have ice cream! Just the two of us!"

It was too late for him to do anything. Xion's shattered body dissolved into many particles of golden light. Some of them flew into the sky and some of them flew into Roxas. He reached for his face and felt liquid trickling from his eye. Xion was…gone, but what did she want Roxas to do? She wanted him to free the hearts…why? He noticed her Keyblade lying on the ground and picked it up.

The instant he did, it transformed into a white Keyblade with a wing-shaped hand guard, two shafts, and a colorful tooth. The name _Oathkeeper _came to mind. He would do his best to carry out her request, which was all that mattered now. If he failed, he would have no reason to exist.

* * *

><p>Axel lay on his be in the castle, the void of the Nobodies, where Nothing was everywhere, trying to piece together everything, the fragments of what was left of almost a year of two friends together, inseparable...feeling...<p>

"I just don't get it..." he moaned, shuffling about.

Unable to sleep, he sat up and looked around the room. Just then, his eyes caught something that wasn't there before, an envelope. He rose and strode over to it and felt something solid and thin in it. Opening it, he pulled an old ice cream stick out and eyed it.

**Winner**

That's what was etched on it... he knew a few sticks were labeled with the word _winner_, but he never knew what it meant... as his memories wandered, he remembered Roxas once told him he got a stick labeled _winner_. Remembering this, Axel took another look at... long and hard as he thought of Roxas once more... why would he give this to him?

* * *

><p>Xemnas sat alone on his throne in the round room. He had not moved once since sending Xion for Roxas. There was no reason for him to. Just then, Saix and Xigbar appeared on opposite ends of the platform below.<p>

"Xion's signal has died." Xemnas said. "It has been eliminated."

"For the best, perhaps." Saix remarked as Xigbar chortled to himself.

"Do you find something amusing?" Saix asked calmly as he faced Xigbar and drew his claymore.

"Please, don't impress yourself." Xigbar sneered, drawing one of his arrowguns.

"The difference between you an' me, lapdog, is I never trusted that thing." he went on aiming his gun at Saix's face.

"I advise you to lower your weapon, Xigbar." Saix rasped threateningly. "For your sake."

"Make a move." said Xigbar. "I dare ya."

"Enough." Xemnas said calmly, and both of his pawns obeyed. "Xigbar, rally Xaldin and Luxord. The time for reconnaissance is over. We are to take the offensive."

With that, Xigbar disappeared.

"Saix, get Axel. I want my Keyblade wielder."

Saix disappeared as well, leaving Xemnas alone once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>ShaD.23 and I worked on this chapter together


	23. Feeling Sora

Namine entered the lab and found DiZ and Riku at the computer.

"Sora's restoration is progressing again." DiZ muttered thoughtfully.

"His memories have returned." Namine confirmed. "Xion…must have been destroyed."

It was a struggle for Namine to remember the replica's name. It would not be long before she, and everyone else forgot it completely, but she did not forget her promise to look after Roxas.

"Alright." DiZ spoke up, turning to Riku. "Riku, it's time for you to find Roxas and bring him here."

Riku turned, threw open a portal, and left without a word.

Riku emerged in the woods where Goku was waiting for him. Goku also donned a black cloak, even though he hated all the sneaking around and preferred to fight in the open like a warrior.

"Find anything out, Riku?" he asked.

"Yeah, Sora's started getting his memories back but…"

"But what?"

"Goku, I'm going to find one of the organization members and take him to DiZ. His name is Roxas and he's Sora's Nobody."

"Sora's?" Goku gasped in awe.

"Yes, DiZ thinks Sora will wake up if he and Roxas become one again."

Goku nodded.

"Roxas might not come with me willingly; I may have to fight him. I might lose, and if I win, it may only be because I gave into the darkness."

"Don't think that way, Riku!" Goku insisted. "You're so much…"

"Goku, I need you to promise me something! If become the Seeker of Darkness again, if I lose control and forget who I am, you need to stop me!"

"Riku…"

"Promise me, Goku!" Riku persisted, lifting his blindfold so Goku could see his eyes. "If I become dangerous, you need to stop me, even if it means destroying me, and Sora and Kairi can never know."

Goku's warm, fatherly features quickly hardened and turned grave.

"I promise." he said stoically.

"I'm counting on you, Goku." Riku said as he slipped back into the portal.

Goku watched solemnly as Riku disappeared from view.

_Riku…_he thought, hoping that his thoughts would somehow reach his new friend. _You're so much stronger than you think you are._

* * *

><p>Roxas emerged from the darkness and began his lonely trek down the empty streets of the dark city. Even the rain was silent here. Xion wanted him to free Kingdom Hearts, he wondered if his Keyblade would be able to do it. He also wondered if doing so would bring her back, yes, that must have been it. Why else would she want him to do it?<p>

He remembered Axel showing him Kingdom Hearts once before, it was a golden heart-shaped moon high above the castle. The only way he could possibly reach it was if he went to the highest tower. He could probably get there without being noticed if he jumped from tower to tower and avoided going inside the castle.

His thoughts were interrupted by the flickering of the street lamps. The area around him went black and dozens of yellow eyes appeared. When the lights came back on, he was confronted by a gross of Neoshadows. As they scurried toward him, he drew the Oathkeeper and Oblivion and started slicing through them with ease. Not one had laid a claw on him, but each time he took out one group, another appeared and challenged him.

It looked as though he could be overwhelmed at any minute. He had to stop wasting time fighting and get away from them. So he dashed to a nearby building and started running up its side. As he ran, he noticed someone standing at the top. He was wearing one of the organization's cloaks, but Roxas did not recognize him. He wasn't one of their members.

Roxas assumed, for the moment, that this person was here to fight the Neoshadows, so he flung the Oblivion up to him, expecting him to catch it. The stranger dove off the edge, caught the Oblivion, and fell right past Roxas. As the two passed, Roxas saw the stranger's face straining beneath his blindfold, as if he were experiencing some kind of pain. Roxas had to admit, as they passed, he felt a hollowness shoot through his mind. It was like he was forgetting something important. When Roxas got to the top of the building, he looked down and saw the stranger slicing through some of the Neoshadows, so he leapt down and began slaying the others until each one was reduced to black goo. When all the Neoshadows were gone, he turned and faced the stranger.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Riku." the stranger answered. "Roxas, come with me and I'll take you someplace safe."

"I don't need your help." Roxas replied. He turned and started back down the street but the boy called Riku jumped in front of him.

"What are you going to do Roxas?" he asked.

"I'm going to set Kingdom Hearts free!" Roxas replied, more aggressively than he meant to. "Then things can go back to the way they were."

"I'm not sure what you're saying, but I can't let you do anything stupid."

"I made a promise!" Roxas declared. "I want… **her** back!"

"**She's** not coming back!" Riku barked.

"Shut up!" Roxas shot back.

As he turned to leave. He hadn't taken three steps before he heard Riku's charging feet. He turned quickly, dashed toward Riku and started slashing wildly at him with the Oathkeeper, Riku easily blocking each of his strikes with the Oblivion. He was using one of Roxas' own weapons against him, that couldn't be right! He pressed his attack, but Riku seemed to know his every move. He maneuvered around Roxas and kicked him hard in the back. Roxas stumbled forward and whirled around to strike Riku, but he wasn't there. A sharp blow to the back of the neck forced Roxas to his knees.

"I'm not going to tell you again, Roxas." Riku said impassively.

Roxas was tired of being told what to do. He rolled back and bowled Riku over. He then sprang to his feet and brought the Oathkeeper down hard, cracking Riku's shoulder. Riku dropped the Oblivion and Roxas kicked him in the jaw. He then snatched up the Oblivion and started swinging both blades at Riku, who barely managed to block them with a black and red sword.

He had the advantage now; he just needed to keep Riku from fighting back. Riku did a back flip, landed a few feet away from Roxas and started hurling blue fireballs at him, but he easily hacked them all apart. He flipped himself toward Riku and tried to slash him with both blades but Riku vanished into a thick cloud of darkness. When Roxas whirled around, he found himself surrounded by round black portals.

Riku zoomed out of one and sliced into Roxas on his way. He kept darting though the series of portals, crashing into Roxas each time. Finally, he appeared in front of Roxas, plunged his sword into the ground, and knocked him back with a burst of blue flames.

Roxas cursed under his breath as Riku charge for him as he knelt on the ground. Roxas swung both his Keyblades for his foe, only for Riku to catch both his wrists.

"C'mon, Sora." Riku taunted. "I thought you were stronger than this!" he growled as he twisted Roxas' hand, Roxas immediately shrieking in pain and dropping his Keyblades as he swung at Riku's face.

The white haired youth stumbled back as Roxas made a wild dash for his weapons, seizing the Oathkeeper as Riku snatched up the oblivion once more. As they matched blades, Roxas felt a fiery surge shoot through his nerves. He couldn't waste time. There was something he needed to do, although he couldn't remember what it was. Half desperate, half spiteful, he made a grab at Riku's neck and began to squeeze with all his might. The two dropped to their knees as Riku rasped and the color began to drain from his face. As he began to shake, Riku brought the hilt of the Oblivion crashing into Roxas' face, causing him to instantly let go and topple over, Riku dropping the Oblivion as he buckled to his hands and knees.

Roxas was not seriously injured but he had lost his patience. As he summoned the Oblivion back to him, both Keyblades began to vibrate, making his arms throb. He felt compelled to point them at Riku and did so. A thick golden bolt of light flew from the Oathkeeper's tip while the Oblivion spewed a thick stream of darkness. They flew so fast that Riku could not avoid them and was knocked back several feet, Roxas was also thrown back about two feet from the sheer force of his own attack. The two of them slowly got to their feet.

"Alright…" Riku growled. "You've left me with no other choice."

He tore off the black cloth he wore over his eyes, lifted his head back and roared a loud and unearthly cry. His body became engulfed in a swirling mass off darkness and when it cleared, he had changed! He now looked like Xemnas, with a slightly more muscular build, and with long, flowing hair.

He rose slowly into the air and a large Heartless-like creature with long back tendrils on its head rose from his shadow. Roxas merely blinked and in an instant, the apparition's face was inches away from his. Before he could raise his blades, it seized Roxas' arms with its own massive Arms and began to pull. Its strength was incredible; Roxas never imagined he could feel this amount of pain! He groaned weakly and dropped his Keyblades. Finally, he felt his shoulders snap before the world around him was black and silent again.

* * *

><p>Ansem, Seeker of Darkness stared down at the unconscious Nobody, Roxas. Once his Guardian had Roxas in its grip, it was difficult finding the will to make it release him. He thought about what Roxas said; he had made some kind of promise. People with hearts made promises, but Roxas had no heart to promise with. Perhaps Sora somehow gave him the ability to feel. Yes, that must have been the reason. A portal opened before him and the man called DiZ strode through and took notice of Roxas.<p>

"DiZ…" Ansem grumbled softly, "He could feel Sora."

"Oh, he told you how he _felt, _did he?" DiZ asked dispassionately. "Ridiculous, a Nobody cannot feel **anything. **Bring him."

Ansem picked up Roxas and followed DiZ through the portal and back to the lab. DiZ instructed him to place Roxas inside a machine which was strange and unfamiliar to him. He told him that the machine would teleport Roxas into a digital world that he had created. Ansem set Roxas inside the machine and a beam shone down from the emitter at the top. Within seconds, his body became pixilated and vanished. This experiment made no sense to Ansem but he did not question it, all that mattered to him was reviving Sora.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"One more thing." said DiZ. "Tell me, what is your true name?"

Ansem stared at him for a moment, wondering what he was getting at and slowly replied, "Ansem, Seeker of Darkness."

`DiZ slowly turned away from Ansem and began chuckling softly, then somewhat more loudly. Finally, he turned back and met Ansem's gaze.

"You will serve me well, Ansem."

* * *

><p>Somewhere, perhaps in a place that didn't even exist anymore, a tiny voice, somewhat sad, but also sounding satisfied, said comfortingly:<p>

"_Please, don't be sad, Roxas… I may be going away… but I'm still always with you… I am you… the same way that I am Sora… you may forget about me… you may forget about the time we had together… but it still happened… and I'm happy it did… it's time for us to wake up… together…"_

**Epilogue…**

Namine' sat alone in the white room of the mansion. She had given up trying to remember who it was she had forgotten about a few days prior. DiZ and Riku had captured Roxas just one day ago and he was now in DiZ's virtual Twilight Town. Sora was to wake up soon. It seemed there may be no point for her to stay in this world once he did wake up. Still, she just sat alone, drawing and coloring. Maybe if she was to… go away… she could meet the person she forgot about. The comforting thought made her smile. It made her happy to be able to feel, even without a heart of her own. Just then, she turned to the curtain, dropping her pencil.

"… The winds are changing…" she said, although she wasn't certain of what she meant by that.

A lot had changed over the course of 358 days. Maybe more could change over the seven she and Roxas had left.


End file.
